A man has admitted to starting a fire that did half a million dollars damage to the former Suzy’s Furniture store on Route 255 in Elk County 13 months ago.
36-year-old Colin Dowd of Ridgway also pleaded guilty to theft from a motor vehicle, burglary, and retail theft, and was sentenced to 18 months to five years behind bars. Among the items he stole are a laptop, jewelry, bagels and a frozen chicken breast.
Dowd set the fire in the overnight hours between January 1 and 2 of last year. The fire was reported at 2:45 a.m. Dowd was arrested at around noon on pending warrants, and police say there were traces of the accelerant used to start the fire on his clothes.
Two firefighters were hurt battling the blaze; one needed surgery.