Mar 30, 2019 2 min read

A resident of Woodside Manor in Cumberland Township was jailed after allegedly putting a cellphone in an community-use oven Thursday morning.

Melissa Dawn Grim, 35, of 117 Woodside Drive, allegedly went into the community room of the complex about 8 a.m., put a cellphone in the oven, and turned on the oven. The room filled with smoke and the smell of burning plastic, according to the criminal complaint.

Cumberland Township police responded to the apartment complex for low-income residents. They said in the affidavit that Grim had been trying to destroy the phone. Police said the oven was damaged during the incident.

Leslie Defrancesco, interim executive director of the Greene County Housing Authority, said she’s glad no one was hurt during the incident and no major damage to the building occurred. The smoke was contained to the community room of the building, she said, and it didn’t activate the fire alarm or dispatch the fire department.

Employees were able to open the window to ventilate the smoke, Defrancesco said. The incident was captured on a surveillance camera, she said.

“According to Greene County Housing policy, that’s grounds for eviction,” Defrancesco said. “She will be evicted.”

Police charged Grim with arson, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief. She was arraigned Thursday afternoon by District Judge Lee Watson and jailed on $5,000 bond.