CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — A special plea hearing is scheduled for tomorrow for a Clarion man facing charges for allegedly attempting to set fire to a residence on South Street.

Court documents indicate 28-year-old Joseph Alvin McIntyre is scheduled to stand for a special plea hearing in front of President Judge Sara J. Seidle-Patton at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 17, on the following charges:

– Arson-Inhabited Building Or Structure, Felony 1
– Risking Catastrophe, Felony 3
– Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Misdemeanor 2
– Criminal Mischief — Damage Property, Summary

He is currently free on $100,000.00 unsecured bail.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred in Clarion Borough earlier this month.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, around 2:06 a.m. on Thursday, May 20, Clarion Borough Police were dispatched to a residence on South Street for a report of a man “trying to burn the house down.”

The fire was already extinguished when police arrived at the scene, the complaint notes.

Police then spoke to a known female juvenile who reported that Joseph McIntyre had set a bag of garbage on fire in the stairwell to the residence.

McIntyre had already left the area, according to the complaint.

Two residents of the home were then interviewed.

According to the complaint, the first resident told police that he got up to use the bathroom around 1:00 a.m. and noticed McIntyre was awake and putting garbage in a garbage bag. The resident said he thought McIntyre was just taking the garbage out, but when he left the bathroom, he smelled smoke and then saw the garbage bag on fire in the wooden stairwell of the residence.

The resident told police that he heard McIntyre talking to himself earlier in the day, saying he was going to “burn the place down.”

According to the complaint, police also discovered two burn marks on the bathroom wall in the shower area.

While police were at the scene, McIntyre returned and was taken into custody without incident, the complaint states.

McIntyre was questioned but reportedly refused to answer any questions. He was also searched and found to be in possession of two lighters and a blink butane lighter, according to the complaint.

McIntyre was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Jarah Lee Heeter at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 20.