The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
MERCER COUNTY, Pa. — A former volunteer firefighter from Mercer County has pleaded guilty to burning down a building where his fingerprints were found.
Eric Trosch, 21, of Hermitage, who pleaded guilty this week to arson and other charges, lived near the under-construction community building that burned on May 14, 2010, at a condominium complex in Hermitage.
Investigators say Trosch became a suspect when he began asking police about their investigation, and explained that his fingerprints might be on the building because he claimed to have peered inside it before the fire. Police say Trosch gave conflicting statements about where he was before responding to the alarm.
He is the first Hermitage firefighter charged with arson in the department’s 75-year-history.
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