Inmate charged with setting fire in cell at SCI Fayette
An inmate at the State Correctional Institute at Fayette in Luzerne Township was arraigned Thursday on arson charges for allegedly starting a fire in his cell.
Quintez R. Talley, 34, is charged with arson, risking catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in his case, Talley told prison guards he was suicidal when they responded to extinguish the fire about 1:30 p.m. in his cell. The fire was extinguished through the feeding aperture. Medical staff responded to assist Talley.
The fire was started with metal, an electrical outlet and papers, court documents said. About 20 inmates and one guard were in the unit at the time of the fire.
Talley has a history of lighting fires in his prison cells, according to court documents. He is currently serving time for arson and related charges in multiple cases in Benner Township state prison and in Philadelphia County. He was sentenced to 13 to 26 years in prison in 2015. Court documents indicate he was to be kept in a mental heath unit in one of the cases, which was a 3- to- 6-year sentence in Philadelphia. During his incarceration, he was also convicted of aggravated harassment by a prisoner in Centre County.