Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Probation for Arson? Only in Youngstown

This should tick you off. Four people were involved in setting their Rhoda Avenue house in Youngstown on fire FOUR TIMES for insurance money. Because the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office and the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court didn't communicate properly, the four ended up with probation only - FOR ARSON. According to Alvin Ware, captain of the Youngstown Fire Department's Arson Bureau, many personal belongings were removed from the house and placed in storage before the four separate fires were set.

Youngstown has a long history of arson fires, including those set last winter when almost thirty arson fires were occurred on North Side. If this is the type of prosecution we can expect for such crimes, where is the deterrence for the criminals? Arson fires put lives at risk, especially those of the firefighters whose job it is to extinguish these blazes. Countless days of lost time have been reported in the last year by firefighters injured in Youngstown arson's, including by several firefighters who have fallen through rotted or burned out floors. Probation for those who commit such crimes, especially when they are committed for personal gain, because of a mix up by the prosecutor's office is sad and shouldn't be tolerated.

Check out the full article at YoungstownFire.com.

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