ROCHESTER – A Jamestown man who was arrested on multiple arson charges in March 2017 is now free after the State Appellate Division in Rochester Dismissed the initial indictment against him.
According to The Post-Journal, the dismissal of the indictment against Jonathan Young was based on the indictment including statements Young had made while in police custody in Pennsylvania. The justices ruled the statements should not have been used because Pennsylvania State Troopers improperly interrogated Young about the New York offenses “in violation of his indelible right to counsel.”
Last year Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley had ruled the case should be dismissed due to the violation, but District Attorney Patrick Swanson filed an appeal, which was reviewed by the Appellate court.
Young faced a 25-count indictment in Chautauqua County Court that includes 13 felony arson charges. He was accused of setting more than a dozen fires in Jamestown and Falconer between March 2-25, 2017.
He was arrested at the end of March 2017 for stealing a vehicle in Warren County, PA as well as allegedly starting another fire in Butler County. He was held for prosecution for his crimes in Pennsylvania and, in April 2018, reached a plea agreement involving his Pennsylvania charges.
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