MOUNT JOY, PENNSYLVANIA MAN CHARGED WITH ARSON IN HARVEY'S MAIN STREET BBQ FIRE IN MOUNT JOY. THE FIRE WAS ENHANCED BY THE USE OF A NATURAL GAS LINE THAT WAS REMOVED FROM THE RESTAURANT’S SMOKER.
January 21, 2015
Kyle Coon, a former
employee at the restaurant, allegedly started a fire at the Mount Joy
restaurant July 24 that caused $250,000 in damages and displaced a family.
A state police fire
marshal found that the fire was started around a smoker and walk in cooler.
The fire marshal also
found that the fire was enhanced by the use of a natural gas line that was
removed from the smoker.
Coon made comments to
multiple people that the fire would not have happened if he had not been fired,
according to the criminal complaint.
Tenants who lived in an
attached area of the restaurant said they also saw Coon at the time of the
fire.
According to the criminal
complaint, Coon was upset that he was not allowed to spend the night at his
girlfriend's apartment, which was attached to the restaurant.
After the fire, Coon told
people that his girlfriend would have to live with him.
In an interview with
police, Coon said he was highly intoxicated the night of the fire.
Coon said he lit the fire
by accident and blamed it on the mixture of alcohol and prescribed drugs,
according to the criminal complaint.
Coon also said in the
complaint that he loves the owner of the restaurant and "he couldn't go
through life without apologizing to him."
"I have to live with
the fact that I destroyed Harvey's place," Coon said, according to the
complaint.
Coon is charged with two
counts of arson - one count of arson of an inhabited building or structure and
one count of danger of death or bodily injury. He is also charged with risking
catastrophe.
Mount Joy police filed
the charges on Jan. 6.
Coon is also facing
burglary charges that were filed in August 2014, according to court documents.
Coon's preliminary
hearing has not yet been set. Bail has been set at $500,000.