Teen indicted for fire that destroyed Hamilton warehouse, damaged homes

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A teen who was 17 when he allegedly set fire to a Hamilton warehouse and caused a massive blaze at the block-long building in July has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple felony charges.

Logan Henry, 18, was indicted on Wednesday on 13 counts including aggravated arson, arson and one count of breaking and entering.

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Henry, of the 500 block of Valley View in Hamilton, was initially charged with arson, aggravated arson and breaking and entering through juvenile court for the July 25 incident on Laurel Avenue in the Lindenwald neighborhood.

Earlier this month, following a probable cause hearing, Butler County Juvenile Judge Ronald Craft bound the case over to adult court. Bond was set at $115,000 for Henry.

The case has been assigned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth, but an arraignment date has not yet been set.

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.

Hamilton Detective Robert Horton testified during a probable cause hearing 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.

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

“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.

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

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