Police have arrested a suspect for the fire that burned down a warehouse and he made his first court appearance.
61-year-old Elmer Mault was in Lima Municipal Court where it was determined there was probable cause in his arson case. It is now bound over to Allen County Common Pleas Court to be heard by a grand jury.
Police say they have still images of Mault from a security camera inside the National Overstock Liquidation of Ohio facility on Findlay Road. A detective says Mault told them he was told to break into the pallet warehouse. He proceeded to steal items, leave, and come back repeatedly. On his last trip around 4 a.m., he says he was told to start a fire.
"He was advised by another person to set the building on fire to essentially cover their tracks," Det. Matt Boss said, Lima Police Department. "He indicated he set, initially two small fires using paper towels and a lighter. One was in the office area and another was to the rear of the building in a cardboard box where he threw the second set of paper towels."
Smoke was seen by an Allen County deputy and fire departments worked several hours to put the fire out. The building was a total loss.
His bond is set at $150,000.
