Wiggins man charged with arson in fires set at LDS church says he was ‘called to take action’

A Wiggins man indicted on two counts of arson for allegedly setting fire to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Wiggins said he was told to set the fires by Jesus.

35-year-old Stefan Day, also known as Stefan Pete Day Rowold, was indicted July 31 on the arson charges in connection with fires set at the church on July 5 and July 7.

He is scheduled for trial on September 3, 2024 with a pre-trial conference scheduled for August 20.

However, Rowold has asked the court for a continuance on Thursday. The court has not yet ruled on the request.

The charges were in federal court because according to federal statute, the church sent its donations to Utah and received money from the LDS church in Utah for upkeep and expenses of its church in Wiggins. That makes the offense an interruption of interstate commerce.

Court documents say that Rowald, a convicted sex offender, admitted to setting the fires, saying he was “reborn into Christ” and “felt called to take action.”

On July 5, he wrote graffiti on the walls before gathering books, paintings and other items and using them as kindling to set a fire, which extinguished on its own.

Court documents also said that on July 7, Rowold, realizing the first fire did not burn the building down, entered it again and set another fire against a wall.

He was seen in the area and was detained by Wiggins Police about damage to the building. It was during that interview that Rowold admitted to setting the fires.