Brothers face charges of setting fires at Serbian hall

YOUNGSTOWN — Two brothers who are suspects in a series of small arsons at the Holy Trinity Serbian Hall on Laird Avenue are in custody.

Fire Department Capt. Kurt Wright, head of the Fire Investigation Unit, said the pair, who are 13 and 14, were taken into custody following a fire that was set in a trash can about 7:10 p.m. Tuesday at Santisi’s on Mahoning Avenue.

Wright said he was called by firefighters on the scene and that the brothers were captured on video setting the fire there.

Wright said when he questioned the two boys they confessed to the fires at the Serbian Hall.

Wright said two fires were set in a large trash container at the hall last month and a crude firebomb was thrown through a broken block glass window at the hall, but the fire never caught on.

Both boys will be facing charges in Mahoning County Juvenile Court, Wright said.