Gillette woman says she tried to burn down shed to kill ‘black panthers’ inside

When trying to burn down a stranger’s shed because there are “black panthers” inside, it may be less incriminating to not use mail addressed to yourself to start the fire. That could be one lesson gleaned from the Tuesday arrest of a Gillette woman who’s accused of going onto the property of a couple who don’t know her, rolling a barrel around behind their shed, then sparking a fire under it, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed Wednesday in her case.

Elizabeth Swenson made her first appearance in Campbell County Circuit Court on Wednesday on a felony charge of third-degree arson. Gillette Police Department Officer Tanner Clemens wrote that he responded to a home on 8th Street when a man reported a woman “acting as if she was under the influence of a controlled substance and was rolling a barrel around their back yard.” By the time he arrived, the shed was on fire, and Swenson subsequently admitted to starting the blaze. She then shared why she wanted it burned.

“She later advised that she attempted to burn down the shed because of black panthers inside the shed,” Clemens wrote. “It is unknown if she was referring to the Black Panthers activist group, the superhero, or the animal. She did not clarify which one.”

Swenson also pulled two Bic lighters out of her pocket in front of police, along with “paper from her pocket that appeared to have been crumpled up to make it easier to burn.” After the fire was extinguished, officers located burnt mail with Swenson’s name on it that appears to have been used to start the fire, located on the ground on the back side of the shed by the alley where the resident reported she had started the fire.

Swenson’s alleged mission may have been aided by alcohol. The affidavit says she displayed mannerisms consistent with being under the influence of an intoxicating beverage, including slurred speech and unsteadiness on her feet. When asked if she had anything to drink that afternoon, she admitted to drinking alcohol earlier in the day, saying she had “enough” without giving a quantifiable amount.

The couple who live in the home reported they didn’t know Swenson and hadn’t seen her until that afternoon. They watched her first look in a nearby dumpster, then in the window of a nearby car, before walking into their yard and behind their shed. She began rolling a barrel behind the shed, and while the residents were on the phone with police, they noticed smoke coming from behind the shed. Along with other evidence and Swenson’s own alleged admissions, video cameras in the yard also captured the incident.

After a police officer tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher and then a garden hose, the Campbell County Fire Department extinguished the shed, which didn’t suffer major damage. At her first court appearance Wednesday, Swenson was bound over to Campbell County District Court to face the felony third-degree arson charge. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. A preliminary hearing has been set for April 16.