BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The man accused of the Dec. 11, 2024, arson that destroyed the historic Bidwell Mansion in Chico was in Butte County Superior Court Feb. 5 where he admitted his guilt by entering a plea of No Contest* as charged to a felony count of Arson of a Structure with use of an Accelerant.

Kevin Alexander Carlson, 30, of Chico, appeared before Judge Corie Caraway who took his plea and remanded him to jail without bail to await his sentencing hearing on March 5, at 1:30 p.m. where he will face up to 11 years in the state prison. 

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the arson investigation began immediately after the fire was reported by a Chico State University Police dispatcher who smelled smoke at approximately 3:15 a.m. and found the Bidwell Mansion ablaze on one of the university’s surveillance cameras. Chico Fire Department responded, but the Mansion was fully involved by flame and was eventually destroyed. 

Surveillance footage captured a large burst of flames at 2:06 a.m. on the north-facing wall of the Bidwell Mansion along with a shadowy human figure in the area. An arson and bomb investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire was intentionally set, and that gasoline was used as an accelerant.

Ramsey said a task force consisting of investigators from State Parks, Cal Fire Butte Unit, State Fire Marshall, Chico Police Department, Chico State University Police Department, FBI, and the District Attorney’s Office gathered to start an intensive investigation to solve the case and develop a suspect. 

Ramsey said video surveillance in the mansion area showed a subject running away from where the flames were, northbound in the parking lot past the nearby Gateway Science Museum.  There were no other subjects seen in the area at that time.  The subject was wearing a dark jacket, dark pants, a dark baseball hat, and a dark bag in his left hand as he passed the museum.  

Task force investigators then canvassed the surrounding area and located surveillance footage of the same male wearing what appeared to be the same clothing walking by two residential cameras on W. Frances Willard Avenue in the Bidwell Mansion neighborhood.  From these cameras, investigators spotted a light-colored SUV similar to a Toyota Highlander come into the Mansion neighborhood shortly before the fire, and the same subject walking east toward the mansion.  

Investigators focused on locating the Toyota Highlander which matched the suspect vehicle seen in multiple surveillance videos.  In particular, investigators noticed the vehicle’s distinct characteristics of a non-functioning third brake light and rear running light and missing license plates. Canvassing the neighborhoods for security camera videos, investigators were able to track the Highlander back to an area on Springfield Drive where Kevin Carlson lived.  

Other surveillance showed Carlson stop at a gas station on Forest Avenue after the arson where he purchased a gallon of water.  A camera in this establishment clearly showed an easily identifiable Kevin Carlson wearing the same clothing as shown in the video from W. Frances Willard Avenue. Investigators then determined the 2004 Highlander was registered to Kevin Carlson.  

Investigators then followed up by attempting to track Carlson’s activities before the fire.

Surveillance was located showing that on Dec. 10, 2024, the day before the fire, Carlson made multiple separate purchases in Oroville and Chico, including a red 5-gallon fuel can, duct tape, work gloves, garbage bags, and a lighter. Surveillance footage from Chico State also showed a Toyota Highlander at 2:31 p.m. park in the Bidwell Mansion parking lot and a male wearing a dark hat and dark jacket exit the Highlander and walk towards the mansion.  The male’s clothing and appearance were similar to Carlson's.  The male walked back to the Highlander and exited the area a few minutes later. 

After Carlson’s arrest on Jan. 2, 2025, investigators examined Carlson’s phone and matched his GPS coordinates to the area at the time.  Investigators also learned Carlson had put his phone in “airplane mode” between 1:36 a.m. and 2:35 a.m. when Bidwell Mansion caught fire, the time Carlson would have been traveling towards Bidwell Mansion, the start of the fire and Carlson’s arrival at his residence.  

Ramsey praised the outstanding work of the investigators from the various agencies that came together and spent thousands of hours of “good old fashion police work” day and night solving this crime.  

Ramsey also noted this crime was a crime against the community that loved and cherished the historic and iconic Bidwell Mansion. He invited those in the community who wished to write a “victim-impact statement” on how the loss of the mansion has affected them to direct it to his office before Feb. 28 at: [email protected]. 

These statements will then be made part of the probation report that will go before Judge Caraway to assist in making her decision as to the appropriate sentence for Carlson.  

*A plea of No Contest in a felony matter has the same legal effect as a guilty plea – proving a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.