Trey Devon Christopher
(DOC file photo)
By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — An ex-convict has been accused of setting fire on two different occasions to the unoccupied leasing office of a Stillwater apartment complex, which his girlfriend reportedly had been told to vacate by the end of July, according to court records.
Due to his criminal record, Trey Devon Christopher, 32, of Stillwater, could be given as much as a 50-year prison term if convicted of two counts of second-degree arson on which he has been ordered to appear in court on July 22.
Christopher was arrested on July 1 and freed on July 9 on $15,000 bond in his arson case but arrested again on July 14 and charged with petty larceny, court records show.
Stillwater Police Sgt. Kurt Merrill wrote in an affidavit, “The apartment manager showed me a video from inside the burned door,” which was set fire on June 28.
“The suspect appears to pour something at the base of the door moments before there is a flash followed by flames. The suspect remains at the door for several seconds and appears to add more fuel to the fire causing additional flames to erupt. The suspect flees from the area on foot,” the affidavit alleged.
At about 3:40 am that day, Christopher, identified by surveillance cameras, had entered a convenience store while carrying a cooking oil bottle with a white and blue label, the affidavit alleged. Christopher contacted a clerk to purchase gasoline, who refused to sell it to him because he did not have an appropriate container, the affidavit alleged.
Ten minutes later, Christopher arrived at another convenience store where he used a debit card to purchase gasoline after the pump was deactivated, the affidavit alleged. Christopher left the store on a bicycle at about 4 am, the affidavit alleged.
At 4:30 am, police were sent for a structure fire at the leasing office, the affidavit said.
Christopher is in an intimate relationship with a woman, who lives at the apartment complex but “was recently served a nonrenewal of her lease, meaning she will need to vacate her apartment by the end of July,” the affidavit alleged.
On July 1, Stillwater Fire Department Deputy Fire Marshall Dustan Portman told the sergeant that there was a second fire at the same leasing office, another affidavit said.
“Video from the scene provided by the property manager showed a male walk from the north toward the area of the fire. Within a few seconds of the suspect leaving the south view of the camera there is a flash of light consistent with a fire being set. A plastic syrup bottle containing a petroleum liquid similar to gasoline was found in the bush immediately adjacent to the sidewalk where the fire initiated,” the affidavit alleged.
“Trey Christopher was contacted and subsequently arrested related to a similar arson that occurred approximately 72 hours prior to this incident,” the affidavit said.
According to court records and the state Department of Corrections, Christopher has a criminal record in three counties consisting of:
* car theft in Payne County in 2024 for which he was given one year in year in prison followed by six years of probation, but only incarcerated for seven months;
* car theft, first-degree burglary, and eluding a police officer in Logan County in 2011 for which he was originally given probation that was changed in 2017 to three concurrent five-year prison terms of which he served about three years and eight months;
* domestic abuse in Logan County in 2012 for which he was placed on five years of probation;
* assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and domestic assault and battery in the presence of a child as a second offense in Garfield County in 2016 for which he was given two concurrent prison terms of 10 years and five years and was released after serving about three years and three months;
* domestic assault and battery in the presence of a child in Garfield County in 2016 for which he was given a concurrent five-year prison term to the above offenses.
