Teen accused of setting massive Hamilton warehouse fire to be tried as an adult

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A teen who was 17 in July when he allegedly set fire to a Hamilton warehouse and caused a massive blaze at the block-long building will be tried as an adult.

Butler County Juvenile Judge Ronald Craft bound the case of Logan Henry over to county adult court for litigation on Friday. Henry is charged with arson, aggravated arson and breaking and entering, all felonies for the July incident on Laurel Avenue in the Lindenwald neighborhood.

Craft set bond at $115,000 for Henry. The case now goes to a grand jury for consideration.

Security videos from neighboring businesses showed four males who looked to be juveniles enter the warehouse during the early-morning hours of July 25, according to police. Minutes later, they ran out the door, and flames were soon visible.

Henry is the teen police say set the fire.

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Hamilton Detective Robert Horton testified during a probable cause hearing in September that investigators were able to identify the four males seen on the video and question three of them

The teens said they were hanging out and entered the west side of the warehouse through a door. They were climbing on a bin of plastic when Henry put a lighter to the plastic, Horton said during testimony.

“He (Henry) took a lighter, lit the plastic while they were on top of it, they jumped down and ran out,” Horton said.

During questioning by defense attorney Edward Perry, Horton said all three boys pointed to Henry as the person who lit the fire.

Horton said there was no evidence an accelerant was used to light the fire, but Henry said they all attempted to put out the fire before leaving the building.

“Seriously, one light from a lighter caused this fire?” Perry said, questioning whether that was enough to start a fire that large.

The defense attorney also pointed out there was no evidence other that the witnesses. The video shows only the four entering and exiting the building.

MORE: Records: Teen accused in massive Hamilton warehouse fire violated juvenile probation 16 times

Cleanup will cost an estimated $100,000, according to police.

In August 2015, Henry was charged with receiving stolen property by the West Chester Police Department. He was placed on probation, given a stay away order, told to make restitution and given 12 hours of community service.

His probation was violated on that charge in November 2015 and February 2015.

West Chester police charged Henry with misdemeanor criminal trespass and criminal damaging in March 2016. He stayed in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center for 15 days and was placed on probation and given a $10 fine plus court costs.

Since March 2016, he has received 13 probation violations that have sent him back to JDC and placed him on house arrest. He was also charged with truancy by Hamilton City Schools in February 2017.

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