Burned book in frying pan may have sparked fire after burglary at Adams County home

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — The man arrested after a burglary and fire at an Adams County home in January broke into another home that same morning and was the subject of a welfare check the day before the crimes, according to an arrest affidavit from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

Augustus Schneider, 34, was found unconscious inside a home on West 80th Avenue after a burglary was reported at the home and a fire in the basement, in the early morning hours of Jan. 3. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and later arrested.

Schneider pleaded guilty in September to arson, aggravated cruelty to animals, and felony menacing, according to court documents. He was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison. 

According to the arrest affidavit, on Jan. 2, Schneider’s roommate asked for a welfare check on him. When contacted, Schneider told deputies he had been kidnapped on or around Dec. 17 in Denver. He explained that he and the woman were forced into a van and taken to an unknown residence on Zuni Street where they were tied to chairs. He also told deputies they had been locked in the bathroom at some point and then found an “improvised explosive device” outside the bathroom.

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The deputy noted that Schneider was “fidgety, itching his arms and playing with his hair” as he relayed the story. His roommate later told deputies that he had been in town when Schneider claimed to have been kidnapped and said he found that Schneider had ripped down their shower curtain and believed he may have been on drugs or was having a mental health issue.

Responding deputies determined that Schneider did not meet the requirement for a mental health hold and denied needing any medical attention, according to the affidavit.

Just before 2 a.m. the next morning, deputies responded to a burglary call at a home on Valley View Drive, with the suspect described as being shirtless with long blonde hair. That description appeared to match Schneider, the affidavit says.

Deputies contacted the resident who reported she woke up to a noise outside, which she attributed to an animal until she heard glass breaking a few minutes later. From the kitchen, she saw a man in the yard trying to get inside. The man eventually did get inside and was holding a rake, the affidavit says. He grabbed knives from the woman’s kitchen and came toward her while waving a knife back and forth, the document says.

She ran to another room and grabbed her lacrosse stick in case she needed to defend herself and locked herself in a bathroom where she called 911, according to the affidavit. She did not see the intruder leave but said she believed he may have exited through the front door because she thought it might have been open when she came out of the bathroom.

The woman told deputies she was “scared for her life.” While at the scene, deputies learned of another burglary in progress on West 80th Avenue. A deputy who was at the first home left and responded to the second home, where two people who were “shaking” and “appeared distraught” ran up to her. A woman at the second home explained that she and her son ran out and jumped a fence to escape.

That woman, Jennifer Jensen, previously spoke with 9NEWS. She told deputies that her two dogs were inside. Both dogs died as a result of a fire set by the intruder.

Deputies surrounded the home, and one of them reported that they could see a man in the basement who had a knife. According to the affidavit, they made an announcement on a loudspeaker telling the man he was under arrest and to exit the home.

As they did that, other deputies began yelling that the man was seen setting fires in the basement. One deputy said the man was in the laundry room and appeared to be “throwing liquid” from an unidentifiable container. The deputy said the man was pacing from the living room to another room but that after about five minutes, he lost sight of him due to the smoke filling the area, the affidavit says.

According to the affidavit, due to safety concerns, the decision was made to wait for firefighters to distinguish the fire. As they worked to put out the fire, they found an unconscious man inside who matched the description of the burglary suspect. He was taken to a hospital and later arrested.

The home suffered extensive damage from the fire and smoke. It was also noted in the affidavit that there was a half inch of water covering the floor due to fire suppression efforts. A fire investigator identified the basement stove as a possible point of origin for the fire and noted that they found a frying pan on the stove with a burnt book in it.

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