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Man pleads guilty in school arson

Niles Dragon Wagon at stadium destroyed

WARREN — A man held in the jail since August following the destruction of the Niles McKinley High School Dragon Wagon pleaded guilty to a charge of arson Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, according to court records.

Ricky Mohn, 19, Lancer Court NW, Warren, pleaded guilty to an amended indictment, fourth-degree felony arson and breaking and entering in the fifth degree. Mohn was scheduled to go on trial Nov. 7. In the plea, a second charge of breaking and entering was dropped, according to records.

Judge Ronald J. Rice ordered Mohn undergo a presentence investigation.

Mohn has been held in the Trumbull County Jail since a week after the 2:30 a.m. Aug. 19 fire that destroyed the Niles Dragon Wagon in Bo Rein Stadium where the Niles Football Mothers sell Red Dragon merchandise to raise money for students.

Following the fire at the high school, police also charged three juveniles in Family Court with two charges of breaking and entering and one charge of arson — Brandon Swiger, 16, of Niles; Desmond Behner, 17, of Warren; and Zachary Robinson, 15, of Warren, according to Niles police.

Charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor originally filed against Mohn were referred to the Family Court.

The school district is seeking restitution. Superintendent Ann Marie Thigpen said she would like the district to recoup the $5,000 insurance deductible. The structure was worth about $8,000, and the merchandise was worth about $2,000.

The football stand will be rebuilt in the spring, Thigpen said. While design elements haven’t been set, the district is interested in erecting a more permanent structure, she said.

Surveillance cameras have been installed since the fire, Thigpen said.

Mohn is also facing a charge of vandalism in a separate case Weathersfield police investigated.

Police were called 12:56 a.m. June 25 to Southside Landscaping, 1806 Warren Ave., where a front loader, two pickup trucks and an out building were damaged or destroyed, according to reports. Other items inside the business were reported stolen.

rfox@tribtoday.com

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