Krauss Pleads Guilty to House Fire

SIDNEY--Tessa J. Krauss appeared in Cheyenne County District Court on November 12, 2024, and entered pleas of guilty on two charges in connection with a house fire in Sidney in April of 2024. She plead guilty to a charge of Third Degree Arson, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, and to a charge of Receiving Stolen Property, which carries a maximum of one year in prison.

Krauss is currently at The Bridge in Hastings, a long-term residential treatment center for women. She appeared before Judge Derek Weimer via Zoom call and was represented by Public Defender Don Miller.

Around midnight on April 14, 2024, the Sidney Police Department, Fire Department, and Cheyenne County Sheriff's Department responded to a call about a house fire at 1126 6th Avenue in Sidney. No one was in the house at the time. According to the later arrest affidavit, Krauss and Alton Burnett were living in the house at the time. The house was valued at $68,000.

At approximately 12:40 a.m., Sidney Police Officer Sam Lovato was contacted by Zachary Radke who told Lovato that he was friends with Burnett, who was then living in Omaha. Radke told Lovato that Burnett had told him that Krauss had covered the house in gasoline in the past, and that she carried Molotov Cocktails in her backpack. An arrest affidavit for Krauss was filed on April 16, 2024 for multiple charges, and she was arrested in Greeley, CO, and then transferred to the Morgan County, CO Detention Center.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 8, 2024 on the Third Degree Arson charge and Receiving Stolen Property charge.