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California Manor resident arraigned on arson charges in apartment fire
The California man accused of setting fire to his own apartment building and then leaping from the top floor of the four-story structure earlier this month was arraigned on arson charges Tuesday.
California police arrested Christopher Demetrious Grasty, 38, Tuesday upon his release from UPMC McKeesport Hospital, where he was being treated for multiple injuries suffered in the jump.
Grasty faces 26 counts of arson and recklessly endangering another person and one count each of aggravated arson, causing catastrophe, risking catastrophe and criminal mischief in connection with the March 1 fire at California Manor.
Firefighters from multiple departments responded to the fire at the 30-unit apartment complex owned by the Washington County Housing Authority at about 6:20 p.m. March 1. The fire displaced 29 people, most of whom have returned to their homes, and caused $750,000 in damage.
Stan Shook, deputy executive of the housing authority, said Wednesday that six apartments are undergoing restoration, including the unit where the fire started. Several residents were moved to vacant housing authority units within the community.
Investigators determined that the fire started in Grasty’s fourth-floor apartment. Police interviewed Grasty a week after the fire and he allegedly confessed to setting the fire, according to court records.
Grasty was arraigned before District Judge Joshua Kanalis and placed in Washington County jail on $800,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 10 before Kanalis.