A Scottdale man, who authorities said burned down his uninsured business and subsequently was charged with arson and sent to a state hospital for mental health treatment, was denied his release pending trial Wednesday.
According to arrest papers, Mark D. Bisher, 49, of 617 Garfield Ave., admitted to a paramedic that he set his garage and business next to his home on fire last fall. The Sept. 8 fire destroyed his Garfield Auto Body business. He told a policeman he didn't know why he set the fire, according to court papers.
"Why would someone burn down their own uninsured garage⢠At the time, he was listening to voices. When I went to visit him at the county jail (just after his arrest), he was talking to Jesus Christ, he was talking to two other people, but he wasn't talking to me," said defense attorney Dick Pohl, who represents Bisher.
During his stay in the Westmoreland County Prison, Bisher was sent for psychiatric care to Mayview State Hospital, near Bridgeville, Allegheny County, because he told prison guards he believed he was being poisoned, that a secret microphone had been installed in his ear and that he was hearing voices.
At Mayview, state doctors diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic, according to Pohl, and adjusted his medication enough to restore his sanity.
Pohl asked Westmoreland County Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr. to lower Bisher's bond so that he could watch his 9-year-old daughter and his wife could return to work.
But McCormick said Bisher's mental health problems were too severe and his condition too fragile to allow his release unless Pohl could bring forward a doctor with a treatment plan that would assure the court that Bisher would not be a danger to himself or the community.
"Mr. Pohl, we don't have any sort of treatment plan or therapeutic process here such that I would then feel that the community would be safe, releasing him. I'm seeing a person who's severely mentally ill, and he's only had the benefit of a short stay at Mayview.
"Do you really think I'm going to release Mr. Bisher to care for a 9-year-old?" McCormick said.
Assistant District Attorney James Hopson said he opposed lowering Bisher's bond because he could be a danger to the community.
Pohl said he'd attempt to find a psychiatrist to examine and treat Bisher upon release.
"Under those circumstances, I'd be willing to consider it," McCormick said.
