An 81-year-old Verona man admitted to starting a fire Thursday that damaged a vacant house not far from his own home, borough police allege in court filings.
Verona police charged Ricardo Vantine on Friday with arson and criminal mischief.
According to a criminal complaint, police used video surveillance to identify Vantine as the person who started the fire outside the vacant house in the 400 block of Wildwood Avenue.
A witness who reported the fire around 6:30 p.m. told police he saw several boxes on fire while passing the building, the complaint states.
The boxes set on fire were placed next to the building and eventually caught the wood-framed porch on fire, the complaint states.
Verona fire Chief Dan Tihey said the fire appeared to be suspicious, according to the complaint.
Police used cameras in the area to identify Vantine as a person of interest, the complaint states. He was found wearing the same clothing seen on surveillance footage from earlier in the day.
Vantine at first told police had had walked to the post office and was carrying boxes because they were “blowing around” and he picked them up, the complaint states.
Police told Vantine that the video surveillance footage showed him entering the yard of the vacant house carrying boxes and leaving without them, the complaint states. As he walked away, he was seen looking back toward the house multiple times, and walked back toward it when police and firefighters arrived.
After being confronted with that, Vantine admitted to setting the boxes on fire, the complaint states.
Vantine was arraigned Friday and being held in the Allegheny County Jail on $1 bail, according to court records. His preliminary hearing before District Judge Anthony DeLuca is scheduled for April 20.
TribLive staff writer Brian C. Rittmeyer contributed.