A Maquoketa man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting a cafe on fire and breaking into another building a month later. 48 year old James Anderson Jr., was sentenced in Iowa District Court of Jackson County after pleading guilty to charges of second-degree arson, third-degree burglary and third-degree criminal mischief. According to reports, Anderson started a fire on November 7th in the building housing the cafe Cali-Quoketa on the first floor and an apartment occupied by two people on the second floor. Anderson was seen entering the cafe alone at about 2:10 p.m. that day. He then left at about 2:25 p.m. moments before smoke was seen coming from the building. A report says that racial epithets and swastikas also were spray-painted in several rooms. In the break-in case, police said Anderson ripped out the wiring of a security camera system in the rear of a Main Street building on December 6th. He then broke a rear window . so he could get inside the building.
