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Milwaukee warehouse fire, woman pleads guilty in court
A woman avoids jail time in connection to a massive five-alarm fire in an abandoned Milwaukee building earlier this year. It happened back in May near 32nd and Hampton. 23-year-old Ellen Stevens pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent handling of burning materials.
MILWAUKEE - A woman trespassing in a vacant Milwaukee warehouse, charged in connection with a five-alarm fire that burned for hours and destroyed the property earlier this year, avoids jail time and is ordered to pay several thousand dollars in restitution.
Guilty plea
What we know:
Ellen Stevens, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of negligent handling of burning material. A judge sentenced Stevens to 12 months probation and ordered her to pay $6,000 in restitution.
Ellen Stevens
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On May 20, Stevens and three friends were trespassing in the former Greenbaum Tannery complex at 32nd and Hampton. Stevens says she flicked a cigarette butt through a hole in the roof. When the group was leaving, Stevens said they noticed a smoldering fire, thought they had stamped it out and then left.
About a half hour later, 911 calls started rolling in for reports of smoke and fire coming from the vacant four-story property, which was previously condemned and under a raze order since 2024. It took several days for the fire to be put out, and the property was considered a total loss.
Milwaukee warehouse fire, woman accused appears in court
The woman charged in connection with a five-alarm fire on Milwaukee's north side made her initial court appearance in the case Tuesday.
A person contacted police after seeing Snapchat photos and videos shared by Stevens showing her in the building, with a caption stating, "I may or may not have lit the bando (sic) on fire today on accident."
"I want to say how sorry I am to Holy Redeemer, the firefighters, the surrounding community – anybody that might have been touched by this accident," Stevens said in court.
Sentencing
What we know:
Judge Marisabel Cabrera agreed with the sentence recommended by prosecutors, handing down a stayed six-month jail sentence, and instead put Stevens on 12 months probation and perform 200 hours of community service.
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"Lucky for you, that you were able to leave and not be caught up in the fire that subsequently followed," said Cabrera.
The complex, long-owned by a subsidiary of Holy Redeemer Church, was a total loss. City records show the property was most recently assessed at a value of $975,000. The church had requested the court impose $12 million in restitution.
The building wasn’t insured and has been vacant for more than a decade, despite past attempts to redevelop the property. At the time of the fire, it was under a raze order by the city for more than a year.
The Source: Information in this post comes from the criminal complaint, court records, and prior reporting.