Jonathan Young
MAYVILLE – The trial of a local man facing more than two dozen charges related to a series of arsons that took place over two years ago has been put on hold indefinitely.
According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, a pretrial hearing for Jonathan Young took took place Monday in Chautauqua county Court, with judge David Foley ruling that some evidence that would be used was inadmissible. As a result, District Attorney Patrick Swanson has opted to challenge that ruling via an appeal, putting Young’s trial on hold until after the appeal process is over.
Young was arrested in March 2017 in Butler County, Pennsylvania following a string of arsons that took place in the Jamestown and Falconer area. He’s accused of fleeing the area when the investigation into the fires was closing in on him. He’s already been convicted for stealing a vehicle in Warren County, PA and also setting fire to an abandoned house in Butler County, PA.
After being prosecuted in Pennsylvania, Young was returned to Chautauqua County so he could go to trial on 25 counts. He was arraigned on the local charges last summer and the trial was to finally begin this week.
However, on Monday the Judge Foley reviewed evidence involving testimony collected by both New York and Pennsylvania police following Young’s arrest, and ruled that some of it was inadmissible because Young was questioned about unrelated New York charges by Pennsylvania police without first obtaining a written waiver from his Pennsylvania attorney.
Swanson will appeal the ruling and it’s not know when the New York 4th Appellate Division will take up the matter. The trial will be on hold until the matter is dealt with.
It’s the second time the trial was delayed. It initially was to take place in January after Young rejected a plea deal from the DA’s office.
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