Trials for two of the three people who face felony charges in connection with the Memorial Day downtown Platteville fire are scheduled for Aug. 9.
Danny Mabra, 24, Platteville, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of drug paraphernalia to manufacture methamphetamine in the presence of a child younger than 14, and manufacture or delivery of up to 3 grams of methamphetamine, both felonies as repeaters.
Mabra was in the Grant County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bond Tuesday morning, according to court records.
James M. Youngblood, 23, Platteville, waived a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of manufacture of up to 3 grams of methamphetamine, and a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child. Youngblood also pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Youngblood was in the Grant County Jail in lieu of $1,000 cash bond Tuesday morning, according to court records.
A status conference is scheduled for both for July 27. Mabra faces a maximum sentence of 22½ years in prison and $50,000 in fines, plus up to four more years in prison as a repeat offender, if convicted. Youngblood faces up to 13 years 3 months in prison and $35,000 in fines if convicted.
Kerry M. King, 22, Platteville, faces charges of maintaining a drug trafficking place and attempting to purchase pseudoephedrine products with intent to facilitate another person’s manufacture of methamphetamine, both felonies.
King is free on $1,000 signature bond.
King’s preliminary hearing will be held June 30. She faces up to seven years in prison and $20,000 in fines, if convicted.
The seven apartments at 42 W. Main St., above the storefronts of Exclusive Body Art and the former Gabby’s Gyros & Sweets at 40 and 50 W. Main St., were heavily damaged by a fire that began Memorial Day at 3:55 a.m. Firefighters were on the scene of the fire for 12 hours.
When firefighters got to apartment 2, it had “a lot of precursor materials used for making methamphetamine,” as well as some methamphetamine, Platteville Fire Chief Ryan Simmons said last week.
The cause of the fire in the building’s second-floor apartment 2, where King and Youngblood lived according to court records, hasn’t been officially determined, but state investigators spent Memorial Day afternoon investigating the apartment, where the fire originated, and a meth cleanup crew was called to clean up the apartment.
Six of the seven apartments on the building’s second and third floors were occupied, but all of the residents, including three children, were evacuated by the time firefighters arrived, with no injuries.
In addition to the seven apartments, the building houses Exclusive Body Art at 40 W. Main St., which had water damage, and the former Gabby’s Gyros & Sweets at 50 W. Main St., which had smoke damage.
