Man arraigned on arson charges

YOUNGSTOWN — Michael Pletcher’s motive for setting fire to a vacant house at 229 E. LaClede Ave. was to steal the copper pipes and aluminum siding, an investigator says.

Pletcher, 23, of 13th Street, Campbell, was arraigned Wednesday in municipal court on one count of arson and two counts of aggravated arson.

Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly set bond at $125,000, and a preliminary hearing was set for June 5.

Pletcher used an SUV to haul away the scrap because he didn’t have a pickup truck, said Capt. Alvin Ware, head of the arson bureau. Ware said police are checking to see if any of the scrap had been sold.

Firefighters found the structure fully engulfed in flames when they arrived around 10:45 p.m. May 18 and worked to protect occupied houses nearby.

The aggravated-arson charges were filed based on exposure damage to two occupied structures.

“He went back to get the siding after the fire,” Ware said. At the time of the fire, Pletcher had been staying with his brother on East LaClede, the investigator said.