Suspect in MCCTC fire gets pretrial hearing date

YOUNGSTOWN — The girl who’s charged with two counts of aggravated arson in the fire that destroyed a wing of the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center will be back in court March 12 for a pretrial hearing.

Pamela Schindler of West South Range Road in Salem denied both counts in county juvenile court Monday.

Canfield police have said Schindler lighted a cigarette lighter near a bucket of solvent students were using to clean up spilled paint in a multimedia art room in the main building at the school on Palmyra Road.

She was originally charged with criminal damaging in August, after a three-month investigation by police and the state fire marshal’s office.

She was set to go to trial in January on that and an obstruction-of-justice charge, but the charges were dismissed while the juvenile prosecutor’s office considered the more serious charges.

An assistant prosecutor in the case, Kerry Limbian, said last month that her office determined after reviewing evidence and interviewing another witness that the more serious charges were warranted. She would not go into more details about why.

The two counts of aggravated arson were filed Jan. 18, and the obstruction-of-justice charge was refiled. Information on the disposition of the obstruction charge was not immediately available from the court.

The fire caused around $8 million in damage at the school. Along with the wing that was destroyed, heat and smoke damaged the rest of the building.

Everyone was evacuated safely.

The school finished its year at the Gordon D. James Career Center building in Lordstown.