Jeannette man faces arson charges in February fire at abandoned home

Renatta Signorini | Tuesday, July 25, 2023 10:01 a.m.

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

A home that was damaged by suspicious fires on Magee Avenue in Jeannette has since been torn down.

A Jeannette man is accused of going into an abandoned house in February twice in about seven minutes before it went up in flames, according to court papers.

Jeannette police said they used surveillance video to track Jason Anthony John’s movements on Feb. 15, tying him to an arson at a Magee Avenue house that has since been demolished. John, 44, was denied bail Tuesday morning.

He was charged Monday with arson, risking a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and related offenses.

The fire was reported around 8:20 p.m. in a house that Jeannette firefighters used days before to practice rescuing someone pinned under a collapsed porch roof. The home previously had problems with squatters and was the site of another suspicious fire in January 2022. No charges have been filed in that fire. Firefighters secured the home after their training session.

A neighbor reported to police that a man, later identified as John, was seen on Magee Avenue about 20 minutes before the blaze. Officers reviewed surveillance cameras set up around downtown to track John’s movements, according to court papers.

He was seen at 7:58 p.m. leaving his South Seventh Street home. Three minutes later, he ducked under yellow tape and got inside the Magee Avenue house through a broken window.

Police reported seeing a light in the first floor and John left at 8:03 p.m., putting a flashlight in his pocket. A minute later, he stops and chats with a man on the street. By 8:07 p.m., he’s back inside the Magee Avenue home and then leaves 60 seconds later through the same broken window, according to court papers.

Smoke is seen at 8:09 p.m. and flames intensify over the next few minutes until the fire is reported at 8:16 p.m., police said. By that time, John returned home.

A state police fire marshal ruled the blaze was intentionally set in the attic where there were numerous cardboard boxes, paper, magazines and straw, according to court papers. Police said they seized clothing John was wearing in surveillance video on the night of the fire.

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 3. John did not have an attorney listed in online court records. He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison.

The home was been torn down through federal American Rescue Plan money distributed by Westmoreland County.