MORE: Records: Teen accused in massive Hamilton warehouse fire violated juvenile probation 16 times
Henry, of the 500 block of Valley View Drive in Hamilton, was in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth’s courtroom on Thursday for a hearing at which trial was set for April 20. Defense attorney Edward Perry entered not guilty pleas to all charges on his behalf.
In November, Butler County Juvenile Judge Ronald Craft bound the case over to adult court. Bond was set at $115,000 for Henry. He is free on bond.
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, 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.
PHOTOS: Hamilton teen pleads not guilty in first adult court appearance for huge warehouse fire case
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.
Cleanup will cost an estimated $100,000, according to police.
This is the second case pending that involves a defendant charged with setting a fire that destroyed large warehouses in Butler County.
Joshua Lamb, 35, is charged with arson, a fourth-degree felony, for allegedly starting a fire on New Year’s Day that burned for days at the former Middletown Paperboard facility on Verity Parkway.
Lamb, who was homeless, started the fire, and when he walked away to get more wood, his bedding caught fire, police said. He fled as the fire spread through the huge building.
The fire is estimated to cost the city than $130,000 in demolition costs and firefighter overtime.
Lamb is housed in the Butler County Jail after his case was bound over to a grand jury for consideration.
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