By Brandi Makuski

Plover police say they’ve nabbed three suspects for arson and other charges stemming from last April’s house fire on Post Road.

Plover Police Captain Gary Widder confirmed this week that three individuals, Patrick Nowak, 18, Brian McLeod, 25 and Jeannie Romportl, 23, have all been arrested in connection with the fire and subsequent thefts. Romportl and McLoed were arrested in December; the final suspect, Patrick Nowak, was taken into custody Friday.

Jeannie Romportl

All three are expected to be charged as codefendants. Plover police have requested charges of arson, theft, burglary, criminal damage to property and graffiti. A representative from the Portage County District Attorney’s office said staff attorneys were reviewing the case and should be ready to bring formal charges against the trio later this month.

Police and fire crews responded to 3711 Post Road in Plover after someone reported seeing flames from a residence around 2:30 AM on April 26, 2013. No injuries were reported but the structure was a total loss.

Several items were stolen from the property in the days following the fire including a boat, snowmobile, a snow blower, lawn mower, vehicle rims, an engine and an ATV. The value of the items taken was estimated at $14,000.

Captain Widder said his department suspected arson from the start of its investigation though didn’t disclose any specific details.

“We looked at the starting origin, the path of the blaze, some of those types of things. Other things found at the scene that pointed us in that direction,” he said, adding there’s no reason to believe the arson was retaliatory in nature.

Widder credited Plover detectives Brian Noel and Paul Rink for the arrests, saying the two worked tirelessly, conducted “many, many interviews” and served several subpoenas and warrants to gather evidence.

“I commend them and tip my hat to them for staying with it and staying persistent,” Widder said.

Brian McLeod

The department put in a lot of leg work on the case because other crimes were uncovered during the investigation.

“We had warrants for certain records at other properties that wound up solving other criminal activity- thefts, burglaries and things like that. That’s one of the reasons this took a little longer; it started to lead to other criminal activity and you have to put your ducks in a row. It can be kind of painstaking. but we’re satisfied with it.”