Arson arrests bring relief in Jeannette
Federal and local law enforcement officials said Jeannette residents can feel safer now that five men and a 17-year-old juvenile have been charged with a string of arsons that have perplexed investigators and put nerves on edge since 2008.
“It's done,” said police Chief Brad Shepler. “Our city can rest a little bit easier now. I especially can rest easier for a change.”
There have been 20 arsons in the city in the past four years. Shepler said the suspects arrested on Wednesday are responsible for nine of the fires.
“Law enforcement believes the people behind the numerous fires are under arrest,” said Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck.
Don Robinson, assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Philadelphia, said his agency joined the investigation in February, and the last fire was set March 28.
The suspects are:
• Richard Allen Adair Jr., 27, of Jeannette.
• Jeffrey Robert Tierney Jr., 23, of Jeannette.
• Roger William Adair, 26, of Jeannette.
• John Raymond Horne, 21, of Jeannette.
• Christopher Allen Jones, 22, of Irwin.
• A 17-year-old juvenile.
All six were charged with arson, criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass and risking a catastrophe. Roger Adair and Horne also were charged with aggravated assault because a firefighter was injured while battling a fire on Chestnut Street on Feb. 3.
“It's kind of unusual in a serial arson case to have more than one actor,” Robinson said. “Usually, it's just one person.”
Investigators said the suspects know each other but did not act as a group in setting the fires. They believe the six are connected with the remaining 11 cases.
“We're confident we have the right people for 20 fires,” Robinson said.
Many arson cases go unsolved. According to the FBI, the clearance rate for arsons in 2009 was 18.7 percent; in 2010, it was 10 percent.
“We had 20 fires, and nine were cleared. That's a great (clearance) rate for arson fires,” Shepler said.
After the city's investigation stalled seven months ago, Shepler contacted the ATF, which specializes in arson and bomb investigations. Robinson said his agents reviewed the interviews conducted by Jeannette police and studied suspicious fires in Irwin, Greensburg and Hempfield.
“We wanted to make sure we weren't looking at a bigger area than Jeannette,” Robinson said.
He said the ATF was concerned because the fires started in vacant buildings but then progressed to occupied structures.
“We know (arsonists) ratchet things up,” Robinson said.
Neither Robinson nor Shepler would discuss motives or the fires' origins.
“There was a lot of legwork — old-fashioned police work,” Robinson said. “We don't have a slam-dunk video of someone setting a fire.”
The fires stopped after ATF agents began interviewing people, Robinson said.
“I think the suspects knew law enforcement was getting closer,” Peck said.
Relief swept over the community Wednesday as news of the arrests spread.
Mayor Robert Carter said the arrests “give our citizens a chance to rest easier at night.”
“I think, from a public safety standpoint, the city basically was held under siege. They had a fear of falling asleep because of the arsonists.”
When houses started catching fire in his Chestnut Street neighborhood, Matt Lucas installed outdoor lights and parked his vehicles in the driveway.
“At least they got them,” said Lucas, who lives with his girlfriend and 2-year-old daughter.
Nick Bachism lives next to a now-empty lot on North First Street. A fire destroyed the house that was once there. It was razed this summer, he said.
“It's a really big relief,” he said of the arrests.
Firefighter Jim Swartz was sliced by a glass shard that hit the back of his neck when a window shattered in the Feb. 3 blaze. The scar is still visible.
Firefighters weren't rattled as they responded to more and more arson calls, Swartz said outside the station Wednesday.
“It's a job; we're fighting the fire,” he said. “When the job's done, that's when we start hearing” about the cause.
John P. Horne Sr. of Division Street stood up for his grandson, John R. Horne, who is charged in the Feb. 3 fire and four others.
“I don't believe he is a fire-setter,” the elder Horne said. “He's not fully in control of his mental capacities. But I personally don't believe that he struck a match.”
Horne would not defend a second grandson, Jeffrey Tierney, who is charged with two blazes. Tierney and the younger Horne are half brothers.
The younger Horne has lived with his grandfather all his life, and Tierney lived there off and on for years. Police arrested Tierney sleeping in his car. John P. Horne said Tierney is homeless.
It was Tierney who called 911 to report a Division Street fire, according to his grandfather. The charred home remained boarded up Wednesday.
A second set of brothers – Richard Adair and Roger Adair – are among the suspects. Danielle Spor said she is a friend of Richard Adair and his girlfriend. “He doesn't seem like the type of person who would do that,” Spor said. “He has too good of a heart to do something like that.”
The suspects were arraigned before Jeannette District Judge Joseph DeMarchis and were being held in the Westmoreland County jail after they were unable to make bond. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for Sept. 27.
Richard Gazarik and Renatta Signorini are staff writers for Trib Total Media. Gazarik can be reached at 724-830-6292 or rgazarik@tribweb.com. Signorini can be reached at 724-837-5374 or rsignogini@tribweb.com.
