2nd Ex-UConn Student Arrested in Off-Campus Arson Case

A second former University of Connecticut has been arrested on arson-related charges in connection with the October fire that damaged three cars and an off-campus student apartment.

Connecticut State Police obtained an arrest warrant for the pair of ex-students on Dec. 31, charging both with first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit first-degree arson, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree criminal mischief and tampering with a motor vehicle in connection with the Oct. 11 incident.

At 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Logan Rama, 20, of New Milford, surrendered to Connecticut State Police at Troop C in Tolland. Rama is being held in lieu of $500,000 court set bond and is expected to be presented in state Superior court in Rockville later Wednesday, according to state police.

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David Kuhn, 19, of Sherman, surrendered to police early Tuesday morning. His bond also was set at $500,000. A University of Connecticut spokesman said Tuesday that the pair was enrolled at the school from the fall of 2014 through the fall of 2015, but are no longer enrolled there.

In their application for the arrest for Rama, and his roommate Kuhn, state police said the pair apparently acted in retaliation after being kicked out of a party being held Oct. 11 at an off-campus student housing complex, Carriage House apartments at 5 Carriage House Rd. in Mansfield.

The pair were identified by a number of witnesses as attending the off-campus party and being asked to leave. One of the suspects was heard by the witnesses as saying “It would be a shame if something happened to this place tonight,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit released by police.

In the hours following the fire, police interviewed several witnesses as well as the suspects.

Police said Kuhn denied the statement was made but said the pair left the party when an altercation broke out after he bumped into someone.

According to the arrest affidavit, Kuhn admitted to police that he and Rama “thought it would be a good idea to go back and get some justice.” Kuhn told police that the pair decided to burn the front lawn of the apartment building and took a cleaning bucket to a nearby Cumberland Farms “to get some gas to fill the bucket,” according to the affidavit.

Kuhn admitted to igniting the gasoline that he said Rama poured over the vehicles and on the lawn leading to the doorway of the apartment where the party was held. According to the state police affidavit, there was a total of eight people inside the apartment where the door was set ablaze, with another six in adjacent apartments.

No one was injured in the fire.

State Police said a review of banking records indicated that Rama used his debit card to purchase $3 worth of gasoline at the Cumberland Farms shortly before the fire, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses told investigators that when Rama and Kuhn returned to their off-campus apartment, there was a smell of gasoline. Rama is said to have told a witness that he and Kuhn “f---ed up,” when asked what had occurred, according to the police affidavit.

For more on what details were included in the arrest warrant application, please see: UPDATE: Details Emerge in Arson Case Against Ex-UConn Students.

Connecticut State Police photo: Logan Rama.