Jonathan Young

The Fourth Department Appellate Division in Rochester has dismissed a 25-count indictment against a Jamestown-area man accused of setting more than a dozen fires in Jamestown and Falconer in 2017.

The unanimous ruling in favor of Jonathan Young was part of an appeal made by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office in December over statements that were ruled inadmissible by County Court Judge David Foley following a 2018 Huntley hearing. The DA’s office had been hoping the justices would allow Young’s statements to be heard in court.

The statements were gathered after Young had traveled to Butler, Pa., following a rash of fires that broke out in the Jamestown area. Young was jailed after reportedly starting another fire there; he was arraigned in Butler County Court on March 28, 2017, at which time he requested an attorney.

On April 4, 2017, members of the Jamestown Police Department traveled to Butler to look into Young’s connection to a series of fires in the Jamestown area. While Jamestown police did not interview Young in Butler, they observed while Pennsylvania State Police interrogated him without his attorney present.

During their questioning, the troopers reportedly asked Young about the New York fires.

“Contrary to the people’s contention, we conclude that the Pennsylvania State Troopers improperly interrogated (Young) about the New York offenses in violation of his indelible right to counsel,” the justices wrote.

Young was released Friday from Chautauqua County Jail where he remained following arraignment in August 2018.

Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson told The Post-Journal he will be reviewing his options regarding the decision.

“We obviously just received this,” he said. “We’re going to take a look at it and see if there is anything we can do. … We expected that the court would be siding with us.”

Young has been accused of setting more than a dozen fires in Jamestown and Falconer between March 2-25 in 2017. He was indicted by a Chautauqua County grand jury on two counts of second-degree arson, 11 counts of third-degree arson, one count of fifth-degree arson and 11 counts of second-degree criminal mischief.

The most serious charge, second-degree arson, carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

Targets locally included an occupied apartment at 621 E. Sixth St. on March 2; a vacant apartment at the same location later that same day; an abandoned home at 2840 Woodlawn Ave. on March 6; an abandoned garage at the same location on March 12; a condemned home at 441 Winsor St. on March 22; and an occupied building at 29 to 39 W. Main St. in Falconer on March 22.

Also targeted was a condemned apartment at 621 E. Sixth St. on March 23; a condemned home at 650 E. Sixth St. on March 24; a condemned home at 220 Crossman St. on March 25; a debris pile near a home at 30 W. 11th St. on March 25; a condemned home at 22 W. 11th St.; and a condemned home at 33 W. 10th St. on March 25.