Illegal immigrant sentenced to 15 years for Nelson House arson
Two fires caused more than $430,000 in damage


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By LINDA McALPINE - GM Today Staff
May 12, 2007




Police tape surrounds the historic Nelson House in Waukesha after a fire there last May. An illegal immigrant was sentenced to prison Friday for his role in that fire and another blaze five months later.

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WAUKESHA - Even Miguel Hernandez Ramirez’s attorney said he can’t understand why his client set two fires in Waukesha last year that caused almost a half-million dollars in damage.

Ramirez, 19, was sentenced Friday by Circuit Judge Lee S. Dreyfus Jr. to 15 years in prison and five years’ supervision for setting fires in the historic Nelson House, 520 N. Grand Ave. on May 29 and at Norcomm of Wisconsin, 426 E. North St. on Sept. 10.

"This is about as dumb as it gets," said Ramirez’s attorney, Thomas Harris. "This is one of the toughest cases I have had in 20 years. He is an enigma. The senseless of his acts, I just can’t figure out. It’s not like he is whack job that gets excited when you talk to him about fire."

Ramirez was arrested after police found his Mexican birth certificate at the scene of a break-in and fire at Norcomm. He told investigators he had also broken into the Nelson House that May.

Jennifer Wall, owner of the Nelson House, from which she runs a family law practice, told the court of she, her husband and others "pouring our hearts, sweat and soul" into restoring the house built by the Nelson family in 1910 and saving it from demolition.

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"He said his motive was burglary and that he set the fires when he couldn’t find any money," Walls said. "He’s a liar. There was a jar of money on a desk two feet away from where one was set."

Wall said the state fire marshal told her more than a dozen fires had been set on two of the home’s three floors.

For full story, go to the electronic version of The Freeman. Click here to access the electronic version.

Linda McAlpine can be reached at lmcalpine
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stori ... 007_04.asp