Niles police make at least one arrest in arson of Niles ‘Dragon Wagon’
By Ed Runyan
NILES
A Warren man was arrested Friday and placed in the Trumbull County Jail, charged with the arson that destroyed the Dragon Wagon, a storage barn at the Niles High School football stadium used to store and sell football merchandise.
The Niles Football Mothers Booster Club parents, who ran the wagon, said it contained about $5,000 in merchandise, which was destroyed, in addition to the building, which was attached to the stadium.
Ricky A. Mohn, 19, of Lancer Court Northwest, is charged with arson, two counts of breaking and entering and three counts of contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a minor.
Mohn surrendered at the police station at 1:15 p.m., and he arrived at the jail about 2 p.m. Warrants for his arrest charging him with the crimes were filed in Niles Municipal Court on Friday.
He is likely to be arraigned Monday. Information on the juveniles who are purported to have been involved in the incident was not available Friday.
The Niles Fire Department responded to the football stadium at 2:37 a.m. Aug. 19 after someone spotted the fire and called 911.
In addition to the building, there was evidence of other vandalism that morning, according to fire department records.
The boosters were saddened by the destruction but pulled together after the fire to acquire additional merchandise and sell it out of a tent during the Red Dragons’ first football game Thursday night.
“People came through the gate and gave us hugs, and it just makes you want to cry. These people are reaching out to us, and they want to help,” Michele Golias, president of the booster club, told 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.
“Niles is a big football town, and it’s good to see all the good in the community,” Golias said.
“To come down here and see the building and all of our clothes just burned up inside, it was horrible,” said Kim Palumbo, another booster member.
Golias said the profits from selling the Dragon wear during the season are used to pay for the team’s football banquet at the end of the year. She’s not sure how they will do that now, she added.