By Chris Togneri
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
STOWE, Pa. — A 19-year-old Stowe man and a female juvenile allegedly set a house on fire in hopes of luring a firefighter to the scene so he could beat him up, police and fire officials said Saturday.
Robert Schulz Jr. told investigators that he and the girl went inside an abandoned house on 11th Street Thursday evening and “came up with a plan to light the house on fire (to) get the fireman to come to the fire so Schulz could beat him up,” according to a police affidavit filed to support the charges against him.
The girl, whom police did not name because she is a juvenile, claimed to have dated the Stowe volunteer firefighter, the affidavit states. She confessed to starting the fire, the affidavit states. Because she was not identified, it could not be determined whether charges had been filed against her.
The firefighter, Jim Daley, 21, said he and the 15-year-old girl met through an acquaintance and “were just talking.”
When he found out her age, Daley told the girl they could not date, he said. She began to harass him, and he filed a complaint with police, Daley said.
“I’m kind of shocked,” Daley said. “When I showed up (at the fire) I had no idea.”
Firefighters quickly put out flames in the attic, in a 2nd floor bedroom and in the ground floor living room, Stowe Fire Marshall Martin Jacobs said. He estimated damage at $3,000 to $4,000.
Witnesses told Jacobs that they saw someone matching Schulz’s description near the house moments before the fire started. Investigators went to Schulz’s house around the block, questioned him, and Schulz admitted to the plan, according to the affidavit.
Schulz said he was with the girl when she lit the walls on fire but denied starting the fire himself, the affidavit states.
“It’s kind of a far-fetched plan,” Jacobs said. “Did he think this kid (Daley) was going to show up by himself to fight the fire?”
Schulz did not attack Daley or any other firefighter, Jacobs said.
Witnesses said Schulz returned to the scene, shirtless, as firefighters battled the flames, and sat across the street smoking a cigarette, Jacobs said.
Schulz is charged with arson, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and risking a catastrophe. He remained in county jail yesterday, said his mother Marlene Urbano, 47, of Stowe.
She said her son is a “good kid” but has “too much time on his hands.”
“I’d rather him be a leader than a follower,” Urbano said. “He was raised with better morals than this. I’m shocked as a parent that he had anything to do with it.”
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