04-04-2025
Erie police: Man admits to setting fire that damaged East Seventh Street apartment house
An Erie man who lives at an East Seventh Street apartment house admitted to investigators that he intentionally set a fire Thursday morning that caused significant damage to the house, according to Erie police.
Investigators said John H. Mease, 63, made his admission when he went to the Erie police station and turned himself in on Thursday morning, less than an hour after the Erie Bureau of Fire was sent to 411 E. Seventh St. to put out a reported structure fire. Mease told a city police detective he intentionally set fire to clothing in the closet of his second-floor room because he wanted to destroy the house and go to jail, according to information in his criminal complaint.
The fire was reported shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday. Erie firefighters who responded to the two-unit house found fire in the second floor, fire officials reported. The fire was confined to one room but spread slightly into the house's attic, according to city fire marshals. There were no injuries.
The investigating city police detective wrote in the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint against Mease that Mease said he used a lighter to start a fire in the residence, where he has lived since July.
Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Alison Scarpitti arraigned Mease Thursday evening on charges including felony counts of arson, reckless burning, risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief. Scarpitti set Mease's bond at $100,000.
A lawyer for Mease was not listed on his criminal docket sheet Friday.
East Erie blaze: Man and woman critically injured, 3 pets die in house fire at east Erie residence
A Harborcreek Township man accused in an April 2024 fire on Poplar Street in which a truck was destroyed and two neighboring houses were damaged was held for court Friday morning on all charges in the Erie police case.
Scarpitti held Ryan R. Mook, 43, for court on charges including arson and risking a catastrophe, as well as a first-degree felony count of causing a catastrophe that prosecutors added before the start of Mook's preliminary hearing Friday morning.
Mook remains free on unsecured bond.
Erie police accuse Mook of setting fire to a Chevrolet Silverado in the 400 block of Poplar Street on the morning of April 26, 2024. The fire caused damage to two nearby houses, authorities reported.
Erie police initially charged Mook in the fire in November, but prosecutors withdrew the dharges in early February after a witness failed to attend a scheduled hearing. The charges were refiled in early March.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@ Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Man charged after Erie police said he admits to setting house fire
