Dubuque Woman Pleads Guilty To Arson Charges

A Dubuque woman has pleaded guilty to trying to burn down an apartment last year. 26 year old Mary D.R. Hall entered the guilty plea in the Iowa District Court of Dubuque County to a charge of threatening arson. She initially was charged with first-degree arson. Her sentencing hearing has been set for Monday, August 2nd. Officers received a report of arson at a residence on Bluff Street on August 10th. Officers found “what appeared to be the remnants of a cigar placed in gum at the base of the door.” The door was charred, and its trim had been burned. Police also smelled lighter fluid. Police said traffic camera footage from August 10th showed Hall carrying what appeared to be a bottle of lighter fluid, entering the building on Bluff Street then running from the building with the bottle.