Ravelin pleads not guilty
By JEFF ABELL
jabelljabell
A Burlington man arrested in connection with a fire that gutted a 118-year-old church has pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Ravelin, 28, is charged with second-degree arson for allegedly sparking an April 29 blaze at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Burlington.
He is also charged with a second count of second-degree arson and two counts of first-degree burglary for break-ins at the Methodist church and the nearby First Presbyterian Church.
Ravelin filed a written plea of not guilty to all counts Monday in Des Moines County District Court. A trial date is expected to be set later this week.
The cause of the Methodist church fire remains undetermined. However, police say the blaze had two distinct points of origin, a fact that led prosecutors to charge Ravelin with second-degree arson.
The investigation into the church fire is in a holding pattern, Burlington police Lt. Darren Grimshaw said. According to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, it may take several more weeks before testing is complete.
“We’re still working on it, but we’re waiting to hear from the ATF and the attorneys,” Grimshaw said.
Ravelin became a suspect in the fire following his arrest at 4:15 a.m. April 29 at Hardee’s at 605 S. 10th St. in Burlington. Des Moines County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the restaurant after a security alarm was activated.
At the scene, deputies observed Ravelin exiting a door near the drive-through window carrying a garbage bag full of food. He was arrested for third-degree burglary.
Burlington firefighters were dispatched two hours earlier to the Methodist church after receiving a call that smoke and heat detectors had been activated inside the building.
It took about five hours to contain the blaze that swept through the church.
Police say Ravelin admitted to forcibly entering the churches because he was hungry. According to Ravelin, a cardboard box caught fire while he was preparing a hamburger at the Methodist church.
A short time later, Ravelin said he broke into the Presbyterian church, 321 N. Fifth St., where he stole food items and lit a cardboard box and some church newsletters on fire in order to allegedly destroy evidence.
Police dismissed Ravelin’s account of the crime.
Authorities executed a search warrant at a two-story home at 235 S. 10th St. in Burlington, where Ravelin lived for 22 days with two roommates.
In the search warrant application, Burlington detective Michael Swore said, “During the execution of this search warrant officers observed numerous anti-Christian items.”
Federal authorities have not ruled out charging Ravelin with a hate crime, but say it’s not a forgone conclusion.
Under federal law, a hate crime is a criminal act motivated by bias against an individual or a group due to religion affiliation, sexual orientation, age, nationality, ethnicity, gender or political views.
“It’s too early to tell if this falls under that heading,” said Michael Schmitz, a special agent with the ATF.
Ravelin is being held in the Des Moines County jail on $2.75 million bond.
Tags: burglary, Food