S.D. Man Accused of Arson Scheduled for Court Appearance

A Sioux Falls man wanted on charges he and a business partner burned their business to collect the insurance money has been arrested in Arizona and scheduled for his first court appearance.

Dai Thanh Ong, 27, and Chad Michael Blair, 31, are charged in federal court with conspiracy and arson.

Blair, who has been released on bond, is also charged with an unrelated scheme to set fire to a truck in Des Moines, Iowa, so the owner could claim insurance benefits.

Ong was picked up in Arizona last week and is in custody until his hearing scheduled for Feb. 12 in Sioux Falls.

Blair and Ong ran Mobile Acoustics & Window Tinting in Sioux Falls and came up with a plan to pay someone to burn the place down, according to the indictment.

After the close of business Aug. 9, 2006, Blair, Ong and another person poured gasoline inside the establishment, and the next day Blair and Ong set fire to it, the document states.

The accomplice’s name is not included in court documents.

The fire destroyed the inside of the building and did about $110,000 in damage, said C.J. Bowker, who manages the property in which the business was located.