A man suspected of setting fire to the basement level of Dorman Hall Wednesday night has been apprehended in Lee County.
Mooreville resident Bradley Tahtinen, 36, was arrested in a joint effort by Tupelo, Lee County and Mississippi State University authorities Monday after investigators determined the suspectܬs identity and located his last known address. MSU Police Detective Donald Bartlett transported him to Starkville.
Dorman Hall was burglarized, vandalized and set on fire shortly after Tahtinen was removed from a Shinedown concert for disruptive behavior, vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said. The concert was being held at the MSU Amphitheatre near the building.
ܬWhat we know at this point is that this person attended the concert and was removed by MSU police for drunk and disorderly behavior,ܬ Kibler said.
He said that according to several witness accounts, a man was seen going directly to Dorman Hall and forcing his way inside via the service entrance on the south side of the building.
ܬHe went in and broke some things, then used a fire extinguisher to break some glass in the doors in the basement area,ܬ Kibler said.
A pile of papers was set against a basement wall and set on fire, he said.
He apparently exited the building through the same doors he entered and was last seen walking toward the Newell-Grissom parking lot, according to a witness‹¨’s account.
The man apparently received a serious laceration to his arm from a piece of broken glass while in the basement, Kibler said.
He said blood was left at the crime scene, and authorities collected samples in order to run DNA testing for a positive ID of the person who committed the crimes.
According to a report in The Clarion-Ledger, Tahtinen has been charged with felony malicious mischief, arson and burglary of a commercial building.
The suspect will face jurisdiction through the Oktibbeha County court system.
ܬThis will be an extremely serious case,ܬ Kibler said, ܬand hopefully [the suspect] will face extremely serious charges.
A representative from the MSU Police Department was not available for comment Monday.
University officials received news of the suspectܬs arrest at approximately 3:30 p.m. Monday during a meeting about cleanup efforts in Dorman Hall, Kibler said.
ܬ[Cleanup] is going very well; faster than we predicted,ܬ Kibler said.
The university contracted an industrial cleaning company to bring the building back to a usable state. Work began Saturday and has continued since.
Kibler said the next step is to test the air quality in the building. He said cleaners are working quickly to get the building back to normal, but there is still no prediction on when that will be.