Boardman police report house fire started with domestic incident
Staff report
BOARDMAN
Township police responded to a house fire related to a domestic- violence episode on Beechwood Drive on Thursday night, according to a police report.
A woman told officers that Anthony Italiano, 29, whose listed address is where the fire was reported, “start[ed] the fire by lighting children’s clothing on fire and putting it on the living room couch,” according to the report.
She said she and Italiano had gotten into an argument over a Facebook post and that he “pulled a small black pistol out of holster on his right hip and pointed the gun at her.”
She said she then entered the living room and saw the couch was on fire. When police and fire officials arrived, the house was fully engulfed but everyone had made it out of the house.
When questioned further, the woman said she did not see how the fire was started.
Police searched the residence and located numerous guns but could not find the gun that was used during the purported domestic incident. According to the report, Italiano was arrested on charges of domestic violence and child endangering.
The child endangering charges are due to two young children being in the house at the time of the incident, police said, noting they “could have been in the line of fire if the weapon was discharged.”
Italiano is scheduled to appear in Mahoning County Area Court on Tuesday.