DULUTH - A Duluth teen with a history of arson received a probationary sentence today and was ordered to seek mental health treatment.
Cody Lee Walker-Nelson, 18, pleaded guilty in St. Louis County District Court last month to felony third-degree arson for setting two fires in the East Hillside neighborhood. As part of a plea agreement reached with the St. Louis County Attorney's Office, misdemeanor charges of fifth-degree assault and falsely making an emergency call were dismissed.
Sixth Judicial District Judge John DeSanto sentenced Walker-Nelson to 13 months in prison, but stayed execution of the sentence for five years of supervised probation and 120 days in the St. Louis County Jail or the Northeast Regional Corrections Center. The defendant was given credit for the 95 days he's already spent in jail.
Duluth police arson Investigator Todd Kuusisto was disappointed that the defendant again was eligible for a probationary sentence. Kuusisto pointed out that Walker-Nelson was on probation for first-degree arson when he committed the most recent arsons.
"I hope that the mental health treatment and the probation itself, as well as the time he has already spent in jail and the time he has left to serve will give him what he needs to change his behavior and recognize what he has done in the past has to stop for both his safety, the public's safety and the police work load as a whole,'' Kuusisto said.
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As conditions of his probation, Nelson is to abstain from using drugs -- unless prescribed -- and alcohol. He's to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation and follow all recommendations, pay restitution to his victims and write an apology letter. He's also ordered to work with his probation officer to receive treatment to address mental health issues.
Walker-Nelson was released from jail in June after serving four months for a January garage fire in East Hillside. He was suspected of setting a string of fires dating to last fall and was on probation at the time of the most recent arsons. Police said he also was arrested for arson in Superior.
Duluth firefighters and police were dispatched about 3 a.m. Aug. 10 to a fire in a garbage container in the alley behind 1023 E. Second St. About 40 minutes later, another fire was reported in the bed of a Ford Ranger pickup truck where camping gear, clothing and paper were burning in the parking lot at 932 E. Third St.
The vehicle owner put out the fire with a chemical extinguisher. He and his girlfriend then saw a man holding a white bottle and acting suspiciously. The truck owner later picked Walker-Nelson from a photo lineup as the person he had seen.
