Mansfield man arrested on five felony charges relating to a Mansfield fire

MANSFIELD, Pa. ( WETM ) — A Mansfield man was arrested in June after police said he was involved in an arson incident in the borough near the VFW.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, 55-year-old Fred Carew was arrested on June 27, on the following charges:

• One count of aggravated arson, a grade-one felony.
• One count of arson, a grade two felony.
• One count of arson endangering property, a grade two felony.
• One count of causing catastrophe, a grade one felony.
• One count of criminal mischief, a grade three felony.

The charges stem from a structure fire that happened around 4 a.m. on June 27, according to an affidavit, the fire involved a clothing dropoff shed behind the Mansfield VFW.

The affidavit states that the shed was ablaze and caused exposure damage to the rear side of the VFW. A case investigation was called due to the shed not having electricity connected to it or any electrical components inside of it.

Around 8:30 a.m. police arrived on the scene to check surveillance footage from the VFW. The affidavit says that a man, later police identified as Carew, wearing a bandana, gray t-shirt, blue jeans, dark-colored shoes, and dark-colored gloves was seen holding a plastic bottle and smoking a cigarette in his left hand.

The affidavit says Carew was seen walking toward the shed, where he disappeared from view of the camera and then walked toward the road before going out of view again.

The affidavit states that minutes later, smoke and flickering of light were seen on the asphalt, indicating that the shed was on fire.

Police reported in the affidavit that no other source could’ve caused the fire, and said that an open flame device or previously lit material was used. Based on the information, the fire was ruled incendiary and an arson.

The documents state that a description of the male was taken back to the police barracks where he was identified as Carew.

The affidavit states that later in the day on June 27, police in the Blossburg area encountered Carew, where he told troopers his name, and was wearing the same outfit as in the surveillance video. Carew was then arrested and brought in for processing.

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