TRUMBULL COUNTY Weathersfield man's arson charge is bound over to a grand jury

By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- The case against a man accused of setting fire to the mobile home he once lived in has been bound over a the Trumbull County grand jury.
Paul E. Myers, 30, of Weathersfield Township, appeared in Niles Municipal Court before Judge Thomas W. Townley for a preliminary hearing on a charge of aggravated arson.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit issued by the Trumbull County Jail, Myers said nothing before signing a form stating he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Several police and fire officials from Weathersfield Township sat in the audience, but they quietly left after the hearing concluded.
Police say Myers set fire to the mobile home, his former residence on Barcelona Avenue, shortly before 2:15 a.m. Wednesday.
Evidence found
Investigators from the state fire marshal's office were at the scene after local crews extinguished the blaze, and they found several spots where an accelerant may have been used to fuel the fire. Local officials said they were immediately suspicious of the fire because utilities at the residence had been turned off for some time.
Police and court records show a neighbor reported hearing a truck pull up to the structure and witnessed Myers enter the mobile home. The woman told authorities she heard banging noises and thought Myers and a woman who once lived there were inside arguing.
Suspect arrested
Myers was located later that day at a home on Nash Street in Niles, where he was arrested by officials from the city and township police departments as well as two state fire marshals.
Myers remains in custody at the Trumbull County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond.