A Greensburg man jailed since January, accused of burglary and criminal trespass in the break-in of a Hempfield home to steal silver coins, was charged Thursday with burning down the house.

Randy W. Bryner, 58, of Greensburg is charged with arson and reckless endangerment. State police fire marshals also charged him with animal cruelty because three dogs died in the Jan. 2 fire. Two firefighters were treated for heat-related injuries they suffered while battling the fire.

Bryner is being held in the county jail on $200,000 bond.

Fire marshals filed the complaints after piecing together the activities of Bryner inside the house on Farmington Place from video retrieved from the homeowners’ pet camera, Trooper Stephen Limani said.

“What it showed was within eight minutes of (Bryner) departing the home, smoke was detected on the video,” Limani said.

Although Bryner had done some prior home repair work and watched the family’s pets previously, “he was unauthorized to be inside the home at that time,” Limani said.

“The video was really invaluable in this case. Although you couldn’t clearly see (Bryner’s) face, the homeowners immediately recognized his voice from the video. He addressed the dogs by name when they began barking as he entered the home,” Limani said.

State police believe the fire was intentionally set near the den to conceal the burglary and theft, according to court documents.

“What’s also really disturbing here is that he knew he had set the fire but closed the door as he exited the residence, leaving those three dogs inside of a home that was on fire. If he had left the door open, those dogs may have escaped,” Limani said.

Investigators believe Bryner took 200 silver coins valued at up to $5,000 from the Farmington Place home, according to court paperwork filed by Trooper Chet Bell.

Police have not recovered the stolen silver coins, Limani said. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 724-832-3288.

Bryner previously was sentenced to five to 10 years in a state prison on burglary charges stemming from a 2013 incident in Northampton County, according to state records. He was released in August 2020 and remains on parole. His criminal history dates to the 1980s.

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