Man sentenced for fires at church, park
MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) — A northwestern Pennsylvania man who set fires that destroyed an amusement park ballroom and damaged a church has been sentenced to three to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution.
Twenty-year-old Nickolas Dean Pope, of Hartstown, was also placed on probation for 10 years on Friday in Crawford County Court. He pleaded guilty to two counts of arson Aug. 28.
He set fire to the 164-year-old Harmonsburg Presbyterian Church on Jan. 13, causing $180,000 in damage. He also set a Feb. 1 fire that destroyed the 99-year-old Dreamland Ballroom at Conneaut Lake Park, causing an estimated $1.5 million in damage.