Three charged in arson
Three men, including a volunteer firefighter and his father, have been charged by city police with setting fire to a pile of garbage and rubbish that caused $7,600 damage to a garage on Lincoln Street last month. Facing charges of one count each of arson, criminal mischief and criminal conspiracy are Gary Lee Cornish, 42, of Oliphant Furnace, his son Nathan Kennedy, 19, of 23 Lawn Ave., Uniontown, and Kennedy’s roommate, Adrian Moniger, 19.
The charges were filed Friday by Uniontown Police Detective Phillip W. Jones in the office of Uniontown District Justice Mark Blair.
Jones said the fire, which occurred at 12:40 a.m. on May 27, caused damage to a wood-frame garage owned by Robert Craft. According to the arrest warrant, after the fire was extinguished, Uniontown Fire Department Capt. Charles Coldren determined that it was suspicious and the fire marshal was called.
The fire marshal determined that the origin of the fire was garbage and rubbish piled beside the garage that was intentionally ignited.
Following an investigation, Jones said he interviewed Kennedy and Moniger and then admitted that they served as “look outs” while Cornish set the fire.
Kennedy and Moniger surrendered to police and were arraigned Friday before District Justice Mark Blair for the May 27 fire. They were each released on $25,000 unsecured bond.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Cornish.
Jones said Kennedy became a volunteer member of the Keystone Fire Department in Uniontown in May but was let go from the department at the conclusion of the investigation.
Jones said the Uniontown Fire Department greatly assisted him with the investigation.
Jones said police are continuing to investigate 16 other fires, which primarily involved garbage and large trash bins. He said fires occurred between April 25 and June 23, mostly between midnight and 4 a.m.
The locations of the fires include Lawton Avenue, East Main Street, Easy Street, West Main Street, North Gallatin Avenue and Lincoln Street.
In many of those fires, the tops of large trash bins melted, said Jones.