Boy, 10, starts fire that causes $200K in damages, police say

Middletown police charged a 10-year-old boy with aggravated arson after he allegedly started a fire that caused more than $200,000 in damages to a business Sunday.

A fire was reported at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Family Dollar, 3238 Roosevelt Blvd. The Middletown fire department arrived and extinguished the fire and cleared the large amount of smoke from the business, police said. There were about 10 people inside the business at the time of the fire, but no one was injured.

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Damages to the building, contents and remediation expenses are expected to exceed $200,000, police said.

Investigators determined the suspect was a 10-year-old boy. The suspect could not be located at his home and interviews with the suspect’s father and older brother were unsuccessful, police said. The mother of the suspect cooperated with police in locating her son, police said.

The suspect was located at 3:15 p.m Sunday at the intersection of Greenview and Bonita Drives. He was taken into custody and charged with delinquency with aggravated arson. He was released to his mother.

The child will appear in Butler County Juvenile Court on May 16.

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