Judge gives probation to Cedar Rapids man who started apartment fire

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man who last year started a fire in his northeast apartment while other tenants were in the eight-unit building pleaded to a lesser charge Tuesday and was sentenced to probation.

Jeremy Joseph Lang, 46, originally charged with first-degree arson, pleaded to second-degree arson in Linn County District Court. He admitted, during the plea, to starting a fire June 15, 2024, in his Washington Square apartment at 1424 Center Point Rd. NE.

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He also admitted that he intentionally planned to cause damage when he set the blaze in his bedroom closet. According to criminal complaint, there were other tenants in the building at the time, but no one was injured and firefighters kept the fire confined to Lange’s first-floor apartment. The fire was extinguished and the rest of the building was ventilated to remove smoke, Cedar Rapids Fire Department officials said at the time.

First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter asked 6th Judicial District Senior Judge Patrick Grady to follow the plea agreement and suspend a 10-year sentence and place Lang on probation for three years.

Slaughter said that although Lang has a “significant” criminal history, including domestic assaults, assaults against police officers, drunken driving and an earlier conviction for second-degree arson, he struggles with mental health issues. But he has been willing to take his prescribed medication and continue his treatment, she said.

According to court documents, Lang pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in 2020 for pouring gasoline on a porch in southeast Cedar Rapids and setting a blaze. He was sentenced to three years of probation then.

His mental health status and compliance are the only reasons Slaughter didn’t ask the court for a prison term, she told the judge.

Todd Weimer, Lang’s attorney, agreed that Lang has struggled over the years with mental health issues but he has been motivated to comply with a medicine regimen. Lang also agreed to mental health and substance abuse evaluations, which were completed before he pleaded.

Lang, during the hearing, said he was “sorry for my actions.”

Judge Grady suspended the 10-year sentence and gave him three years of probation. He also required Lang to be placed in a residential facility for over 300 days and pay $10,000 in restitution to the Washington Square Apartments for the damage he caused.

Grady told Lang he hoped he stays on his medication and follows the probation requirements.

This case didn’t reach a resolution for nearly a year because of a few continuances and a judge temporarily suspended the case proceedings because the defense asked for Lang to be evaluated for competency. He was found competent in October 2024, and the proceedings resumed.

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