Man is suspect in arson that destroyed Warren home

WARREN — A Warren police report identifies a 55-year-old city man now in custody as a suspect in what authorities believe was an arson at a house at 393 Charles Ave. SE Tuesday night.

A man and woman in the house escaped uninjured from the 10:58 p.m. fire that started on the home’s porch, but the home was a loss, with damage of $25,000 to the home and $15,000 to the contents.

Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle called the origin of the fire “suspicious.”

Nussle said it is not known yet whether an accelerant was used to start the fire. Materials from the porch will be analyzed to attempt to determine that, he said.

Meanwhile, police were on the lookout for Lesie D. Walker Jr., of Third Street Southwest after the fire, because he had threatened the 40-year-old woman who lived at the house just about an hour before the fire began.

Police found Walker standing beside a car that had broken down on Niles Road Southeast at about 12:45 a.m. today and charged him with violating a protection order OVI and falsification. He was taken to the Trumbull County jail.