MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — A Maplewood man is charged with three felony counts including arson and trying to disarm a peace officer in connection with a chaotic June 26 incident that involved warrants related to the case of a missing woman.
Prosecutors detail the charges against 40-year-old Joseph Steven Jorgenson in a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County Court.
On the day in question, St. Paul SWAT officers were assisting Maplewood police in executing search warrants at Jorgenson's apartment at 89 Century Ave. N. that St. Paul police say are related to the disappearance of Manijeh “Mani” Starren, who was reported missing on May 1, 2023.
The complaint says officers on scene saw Jorgenson attempting to climb out a back window to escape and made their presence known. The defendant at that point barricaded himself inside a bedroom, and refused to respond to arrest announcements and commands to come out.
Police say Jorgenson started a fire in a closet, setting off fire sprinklers in the apartment while dark smoke filled the apartment. Jorgenson's roommate and a woman who was staying at the apartment were evacuated, as were other residents of the building.
The law enforcement contingent sprayed a chemical irritant into the bedroom where Jorgenson was hunkered down, and he allegedly charged out yelling that he had a gun and was going to kill police. He allegedly grabbed one officer's AR-15 automatic rifle and attempted to disarm them. That officer was able to maintain control of the gun and colleagues were eventually able to get Jorgenson under control and arrest him.
Prosecutors say several officers were injured taking the defendant into custody.
The fire was put out with a fire extinguisher, but not before sprinklers left 3 inches of standing water on the floor of the apartment.
Along with one count of arson, Joseph Jorgenson is charged with threats of violence and attempting to disarm a police officer.
Additional search warrants filed to gather evidence from Mani Starren's apartment on the 1400 block of 7th Street East list Jorgenson as her boyfriend, and say he frequented the apartment but was not on the lease. The warrant says investigators were unsuccessful in trying to speak with Jorgenson about the missing woman, and that he did not contact authorities after Starren disappeared.
Jorgenson is not charged in Starren's disappearance.
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