After more than six hours of deliberation Friday, a Webster County jury found Brianna D. Anderson not guilty of felony arson.

Anderson, 34, was accused of intentionally setting a fire in the basement of 304 S. 15th St. on July 13, 2024. She was arrested and charged by the Fort Dodge Police Department in October.

During closing statements Friday, defense counsel Katherine Flickinger told the jury that the state had no evidence that Anderson had actually started the fire or whether or not the fire was caused by electrical causes.

“She may be small in stature and have big feelings with big words to say,” said Flickinger. “But just because she had big words doesn’t mean that she started the fire.”

Webster County Assistant County Attorney Bailey Taylor told jurors that Anderson was seen in the area of the apartment prior to the fire, had had a fight earlier in the day with the tenant, Travis Tritten, and that she had previously told him that she was “going to light this place up.”

Flickinger questioned the arson investigation expertise of Fort Dodge Fire Lt. Jon Schreck and why the State Fire Marshal’s Office wasn’t called in for a fire deemed to be intentionally set.

Following the not guilty verdict from jurors, Anderson was released.