Suspected trash bin arsonist arrested

BOARDMAN — Police and fire investigators arrested a 21-year-old homeless man, charging him with arson connected to a string of fires in trash bins in the township.

Ross Vaughn, 21, was charged with two counts of arson and one count of receiving stolen property. He is scheduled to appear in Mahoning County Area Court on Tuesday.

A police officer saw Vaughn Friday morning walking through the Southern Parking Mall lot and followed him because he was a suspect in the fires. The officer watched Vaughn go into two discount stores on U.S. Route 224.

He was found behind a business with two candy bars that he admitted taking from one of the stores. He admitted to police that he set the May 9 fire in the bin behind Best Buy, Route 224, and the July 16 fire, also behind Best Buy.