Fire crews work to contain a major fire on W. Main St. in the village of Falconer on Wednesday, March 22, 2017.  It was later determined the fire was caused by arson. (Photo courtesy of Andy Palermo, Jamestown, NY)

ALBANY – A local man who was charged in 2017 for setting over a dozen fires in the Jamestown area will not be prosecuted for the alleged crimes.

The Post-Journal is reporting today that New York’s highest court has denied an application seeking an appeal in the case involving Jonathon Young, who was accused of setting fires in both occupied and vacant residences in both Falconer and Jamestown in March 2017.

The appeal was sought by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office after the 4th appellate division handed down a ruling earlier this year that upheld a 2019 ruling by County Court Judge David Foley, stating the case should be thrown out on the grounds that evidence used in Young’s 25-count indictment wasn’t admissible. The evidence involved statements Young had made to Pennsylvania authorities while being investigated for an arson in Butler County, Pa. Those statements where then used by the Jamestown Police Department when building its case to help indict Young on the local arson charges.

District Attorney Patrick Swanson had applied for a request to have the State Court of Appeals hear the case, but was denied in a one-page order dated Aug. 7.

Young has been accused of setting numerous fires in Jamestown and Falconer between March 2 and March 25 in 2017:

• March 2 (12:45 a.m.) – 621 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Occupied Apartment)
• March 2 (11:27 p.m.) – 621 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Vacant Apartment)
• March 6 (8:18 p.m.) – 2840 Woodlawn Ave. Ext., Falconer (Abandoned Home)
• March 12 (12:58 p.m.) – 2840 Woodlawn Ave. Ext, Falconer (Abandoned Garage)
• March 22 (6:30 a.m.) – 441 Winsor St., Jamestown (Condemned House)
• March 22 (7:19 a.m.) – 29 to 39 W. Main St., Falconer ( Occupied Building)
• March 23 (6:14 p.m.) – 621 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 24 (11:05 p.m.) – 650 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 25 (12:21 a.m.) – 220 Crossman St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 25 (1:04 a.m.) – 30 W. 11th St., Jamestown (Debris Pile near Home)
• March 25 (1:16 a.m.) – 22 W. 11th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 25 (2:10 a.m.) – 33 W. 10th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)

Young was arrested in Butler, Pa. shortly after the last local fire was set on March 25, 2017 and was indicted 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.

The district attorney told the Post-Journal that with the latest denial, there remains no options for prosecution on the arsons due to Young’s constitutional right to not be prosecuted twice for the same crime.

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.

Jonathan Young

ROCHESTER – The Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office will make its case next month for overturning a suppression of evidence decision in the upcoming trial of a Jamestown man accused of starting numerous fires in March 2017.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Flaherty Jr. will appear before the state’s 4th Appellate Division on Dec. 2 to argue an appeal of an April 2019 ruling by Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley when he said evidence gathered by Police in Pennsylvania is inadmissible against Jonathan Young in his New York trial.

Young faces a 25-count indictment in Chautauqua County Court that includes 13 felony arson charges. He’s accused of setting more than a dozen fires in Jamestown and Falconer between March 2-25, 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.

Young was also accused of fleeing into Pennsylvania as investigators in Jamestown were closing in on him as a suspect. He was eventually arrested for stealing a vehicle in Warren County as well as starting another fire in Butler County. He was held for prosecution for his crimes in Pennsylvania and, in April 2018, Young reached a plea agreement involving his Pennsylvania charges. He was then extradited back to Chautauqua County to answer to his charges here.

A pretrial hearing was held on April 1, 2019 in Chautauqua County Court and that is when Judge Foley ruled evidence to be inadmissible. At issue is whether or not statements made by Young to police in Pennsylvania at the time of his arrest can be used as evidence in his New York trial. Specifically, Pennsylvania detectives questioned Young about one of the arson cases that occurred in New York and the County DA’s office wants to use those statements as evidence.  But Foley ruled that at the time of his statements, Young waived his right to an attorney to be present during questioning only for the Pennsylvania charges and not the New York charges. As a result, Foley said the statements should be inadmissible in the New York trial.  In making his decision he cited the Court of Appeals case, People v. Lopez – which held that a detective violated a man’s indelible right to counsel by questioning him on unrelated New York charges without first obtaining a written waiver from his Pennsylvania attorney.

Jury selection in Young’s trial was to begin in March of this year in Chautauqua County Court. It’s been on hold since Foley’s ruling because the DA’s office filed for an appeal in the State Appellate Division.

Young is being represented by the Chautauqua County Public Defender’s Office.

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.

Jonathan Young

MAYVILLE – The trial for the Jamestown man accused of setting multiple fires in the city as well as Falconer in March 2017 will begin in January.

That’s according to the Jamestown Post-Journal, which says a plea offer was rejected by the defense of Jonathan Young during a pre-trail hearing Thursday inn county court.

The hearing also involved several witnesses taking the stand from local law enforcement as well as from Pennsylvania.

Much of the defense’s questioning focused around police procedure and mental health, with the witnesses being asked about mental health and if Young showed signs of manic-depression.

Young is accused of being responsible for the following arsons in the city of Jamestown and in Falconer:

• March 2 (12:45 a.m.) – 621 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Occupied Apartment)
• March 2 (11:27 p.m.) – 621 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Vacant Apartment)
• March 6 (8:18 p.m.) – 2840 Woodlawn Ave. Ext., Falconer (Abandoned Home)
• March 12 (12:58 p.m.) – 2840 Woodlawn Ave. Ext, Falconer (Abandoned Garage)
• March 22 (6:30 a.m.) – 441 Winsor St., Jamestown (Condemned House)
• March 22 (7:19 a.m.) – 29 to 39 W. Main St., Falconer ( Occupied Building)
• March 23 (6:14 p.m.) – 621 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 24 (11:05 p.m.) – 650 E. 6th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 25 (12:21 a.m.) – 220 Crossman St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 25 (1:04 a.m.) – 30 W. 11th St., Jamestown (Debris Pile near Home)
• March 25 (1:16 a.m.) – 22 W. 11th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)
• March 25 (2:10 a.m.) – 33 W. 10th St., Jamestown (Condemned Home)

No one was injured any of the fires.

Young is facing a 25-count indictment that includes 13 felony arson charges. The most serious charge, second-degree arson, carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

Young is being represented by the Chautauqua County Public Defender’s Office and has pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in August.

He was already prosecuted for crimes in Pennsylvania after he fled the Jamestown area when police began closing in on him. Those crimes included stealing a vehicle and also setting fire to an abandoned farm house in Butler County, PA.

Young is being held in the Chautauqua County Jail on $1 million bail. The trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 22.

Jonathan Young

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Post-Journal says the trial of a city man accused of setting multiple fires in early 2017 will have his day in court in January.

Jury selection in the arson case against 20-year-old Jonathan Young is scheduled to begin Jan. 22 in Chautauqua County Court.

Young pleaded not guilt during his arraignment Aug. 2 on a 25-count indictment and was sent to the county jail on $1 million cash bail.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Oct. 1. Young is being defended by the Public Defender’s office.

Young is accused of setting more than a dozen fires in Jamestown and Falconer between March 2 and March 25, 2017. While most of the fires involved abandoned homes, one of the fires was the blaze at 29 to 39 W. Main St. in Falconer that had people living in the upper apartments.

Young faces 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 carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

In addition to the charges in Chautauqua County, Young also faced charges in Warren and Butler Counties Pennsylvania where he was found guilty of stealing a vehicle in nearby Russell, Pa. and then heading south where he eventually wound up in Slippery Rock and set fire to an abandoned home there. He was eventually taken into custody in Slippery Rock, where the first of his court proceedings took place.

Jonathan Young

MAYVILLE – The Jamestown man accused of setting multiple fires in the city and in Falconer early 2017 has finally been arraigned on his local charges.

The Jamestown Post-Journal says 20-year-old Jonathan Young was arraigned on a 25-count indictment that includes 13 felony arson charges.

Young stands accused of setting a dozen fires in March 2017, including a major fire in the business district of Falconer that affected several businesses and residences.

The delay in his arraignment was due to his court proceedings in Pennsylvania, where he faced charges related to arson in Butler County. and vehicle theft in Warren County. He reached a plea agreement in both those cases and was sentenced, allowing his arson cases in Chautauqua County to now move forward.

Shortly after his arrest, Young 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 charges carry a sentence of up to 25 years in prison for each count.

Young pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Thursday in Chautauqua County Court and was remanded back to the Chautauqua County Jail on $1 million cash bail.

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled Oct. 1 between the DA’s office and Young’s attorney in the Public Defender’s Office.

Jonathan Young

WARREN, PA – The Jamestown man who was charged with multiple counts of arson in 2017 has been sentenced in his burglary case in Warren County, Pennsylvania.

The Post-Journal is reporting that 21-year-old Jonathan Young pleaded guilty Monday to felony theft by unlawful taking, movable property and misdemeanor loitering and prowling at night time. Young – who is accused of setting nearly a dozen fires in Jamestown and Falconer in March 2017, is believed to have fled the area to avoid arrest and stole a vehicle in Warren County.  The charges he pleaded guilty to this week were in connection to that vehicle theft.

Young was sentenced to 39 to 78 days in jail in relation to the vehicle theft incident.

Young was already prosecuted for an arson charge in in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where he was eventually captured and brought into custody.  For his involvement in setting fire to an abandoned structure there, he was sentenced to 15-30 months in prison.

Young also faces multiple counts of arson for allegedly setting the 12 separate fires in Jamestown and Falconer. With the cases in Pennsylvania now prosecuted, his prosecution case in Chautauqua County could soon get underway.

Jonathan Young

WARREN, PA – The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting that a continuance was granted in Warren County Court regarding a motion to dismiss a charge against a Jamestown man accused of committing a series of arsons in early 2017.

The continuance issued on July 5 involves a theft charge against 20-year-old Jonathan Young stemming from an incident in Pine Grove Township, Pa. The hearing has been moved to Tuesday, July 24.

Young has been facing charges in Warren and Butler counties in Pennsylvania as well as in Chautauqua County after police say he intentionally set multiple fires over a 30-day span last March, including a major fire in the village of Falconer.

He was sentenced in April in Butler County Court after pleading guilty to arson for a March 28, 2017 structure fire set in Slippery Rock, Pa. His plea agreement called for a sentence of 15 to 30 months in jail, most of which had already been served while he awaited trial.

Young is set to face the charges in Chautauqua County Court once court action is completed in Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Young

JAMESTOWN – A Jamestown man accused of intentionally setting a dozen fires in March 2017 is scheduled to be sentenced on a separate arson charge tomorrow in Butler County Court, Pennsylvania.

The Post-Journal is reporting that 20 year-old Jonathan Young will be sentenced after pleading guilty to a single count of arson earlier this month. The charge was related to Young setting fire to a two-story home in Slippery Rock Township, Pennsylvania on March 28, 2017. Before his plea deal, Young was facing three felony counts of arson, in addition to other counts related to burglary and criminal mischief.

He faces a sentence of 15 to 30 months in jail, which will be served in Butler County. He has been jailed since his arrest there last year.

The fire in Slippery Rock took place after Young fled the area as police in Chautauqua County were closing in on him as the suspect of a rash of fires that broke out earlier in the month – including a large fire on W. Main Street in downtown Falconer that displaced nearly two dozen residents.

Once Young is sentenced in Butler County, PA, the Chautauqua County DA’s office will have a better indication of when he’ll be brought back to face local charges that include two counts of felony second-degree arson, nine counts of felony third-degree arson and one count of third-degree arson.

Young is also facing charges in Warren County after he allegedly stole a vehicle in Pine Grove Township in Pennsylvania.