WARREN 28-year-old man faces two charges of arson

AUSTINTOWN -- A 28-year-old Warren man faces two charges of arson in two fires at a house, a township fire official said.
Jeffrey King of Tod Avenue is accused of setting fires at 1249 Mildred Ave. in April and August. The second fire burned the structure to the ground, said investigator Chuck Hanni. King was arraigned in county court last week, and the case was bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury.
Fire investigators say King broke in through a kitchen window at 12:50 a.m. April 4, and used combustible materials such as newspapers to set the first fire in three places inside the house. In the second fire, at 12:26 a.m. Aug. 22, he ignited combustible materials in a bedroom closet, investigators said. Accelerants were not used.
The house was a rental property that was furnished but not rented at the time. The property owner said the building was not insured. Its value was estimated at about $25,000, Hanni said.
Hanni said King used to live in the Mildred Avenue neighborhood, where his parents still reside. His grandmother lives near the burned address and reported that the August fire caused damage to the siding on her home. Hanni said investigators have determined no motive but said King admitted he had been drinking at the time of the fires.