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LANESBORO, Minn. 鈥� After his girlfriend broke up with him via email, a former Minnesota small-town police chief tried to rekindle the flame.

It happened 23 years ago. On April 7, 2002, the Fillmore County Sheriff鈥檚 Office received a call from John Tuchek, who had been the police chief of Lanesboro, Minnesota, since June 2001. Tuchek reported he was patrolling downtown when he saw a building catch fire.

Living in an apartment above the Lanesboro building was Tuchek鈥檚 former girlfriend, who ended their relationship the week before, according to previous Post Bulletin reporting.

Tuchek provided investigators with varying stories immediately after the fire, including one where he observed white sparks coming from the power lines and another where he saw someone in a light-colored jacket running down an alley near the building. When investigators discovered the fire wasn鈥檛 accidental, they began to suspect Tuchek had something to do with it.

But law enforcement didn鈥檛 get the full confession from Tuchek 鈥� his former girlfriend did.

Four days after setting the fire, Tuchek allegedly admitted to his former girlfriend that he was the one who started the fire, according to previous reporting from the Winona Daily News.

His motive? To win her back.

Tuchek confessed that he wanted to look heroic by saving her from the fire, the Post Bulletin reported.

Investigators pieced together that Tuchek used gasoline to ignite cardboard boxes on fire behind the Little River General Store. The fire burned through a gas meter, allowing the fire to quickly spread to the building.

According to Post Bulletin archives, the fire destroyed three downtown Lanesboro buildings, including the Little River General Store and the Ice Cream Garage, and damaged several apartments above.

Tuchek faced 15 charges, including nine counts of arson and six counts of criminal damage to property.

鈥淓vidence will show you that John Tuchek was stupid, that John Tuchek started the fire. But evidence will not show he planned to damage the building,鈥� Tuchek鈥檚 attorney Marc Kurzman said in his opening statement during the trial.

Kurzman argued that while his client did light a small piece of cardboard on fire, he never intended to cause the larger fires, nor did Tuchek use an accelerant. Ultimately, a Fillmore County jury found Tuchek to be guilty on eight counts of first-degree arson and one count of fifth-degree arson.

Tuchek was sentenced to serve six years in prison and pay more than $700,000 in restitution.

鈥淚 just want to say I鈥檓 sorry to the people of Lanesboro,鈥� Tuchek said during his sentencing hearing.

Tuchek attempted to appeal his arson conviction, but the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to hear his arguments.

Months after the fire, the owner of the Little River General Store told the Post Bulletin that she wasn鈥檛 sure the business would ever recover.

鈥淗e will haunt me for the rest of my life if I can鈥檛 recover from it,鈥� Kirsten Mensing said at the time.

Tuchek, who lived in Preston, joined the Lanesboro Police Department in December 1998 and became chief in June 2001. He resigned on April 12, 2002. According to Minnesota Court Records Online, Tuchek sent money to the collection agency from 2010 to 2019 when the collection referral was closed.