Charges dropped against teen in LDS church fire

BLACKFOOT, Idaho — An arson charge against a Blackfoot teen accused of burning down an LDS church last winter has been dismissed, with the judge calling the accusations against the 17-year-old boy "far-fetched" and without probable cause.

Gabriel Pelayo had maintained his innocence since his arrest in September.

The Rose Ward House, seven miles north of Blackfoot, had recently been renovated when it was set on fire early Feb. 27. Its glass doors were smashed, and the lobby furnishings were piled in a corner, doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire, causing about $225,000 in damage.

Pelayo was arrested after children who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said he had made comments during a math class at Blackfoot High School that indicated he may have had something to do with the blaze.

Seventh District Magistrate Judge Charles Roos said there was no evidence placing Pelayo at the scene of the fire or linking him to setting the building alight.

"It's so far-fetched, I can't go there," Roos said, before dropping the charges. "I can't even find probable cause."

Pelayo refused to speak with reporters after the hearing, but his father, Efrain Pelayo, said his son convinced him he had nothing to do with the fire.

"He told them (authorities) from the first day he didn't do it," Efrain Pelayo said.

According to court testimony, Pelayo drew attention to himself last winter when he and a group of teens allegedly attempted to convert LDS classmates to Catholicism, calling the latter religion "superior."

Then this fall, he was reported by classmates when he allegedly made statements while in a class at Blackfoot High about the fire and his anti-LDS views.

Scott Axline, Pelayo's lawyer, said his client regrets having made the statements about the fire, which some students told Roos they thought had been made in jest.