A 16-year-old is charged in the fire last week that destroyed the 121-year-old building.
Syracuse firefighters fight a fire at Marsellus Casket Co. in this Sept. 29 photo. The building was later demolished. Four people have been accused of setting fires at the building.Syracuse, NY – Syracuse police have arrested four people in connection with two arson fires at the Marsellus Casket Co.
Tyler J. Emm, 16, of 685 W. Onondaga St., Apt. 9, is charged with third-degree arson in connection with the fire last week that destroyed the 121-year-old building.
Three other suspects -- Anthony R. Cheney, 22, of 429 Wilkinson St. and Jared J. Smith, 27, and Amanda M. Martin, 18, both of of 85 Seymour St., Auburn, -- face third-degree arson charges in connection with a 2009 fire that heavily damaged part of the building.
Syracuse police have scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. to discuss the case.
Court papers charge Emm entered the abandoned building about 10:30 p.m. Sept. 28 and started a fire by lighting a piece of paper with a lighter.
He’s accused of putting the lit piece of paper into a cardboard box containing more paper. As the fire increased in strength, he’s accused of kicking the box, causing the burning papers to spread all over the floor.
The court papers charge that Emm knew the burning papers and box were going to cause “a massive fire” in the abandoned building but he left and made no attempt to call 911.
Authorities previously determined that the fire began on the Erie Boulevard West side of the building, underneath the landmark clock and about 50 to 60 feet inside the third floor. No utilities were connected to the building after it was left vacant in 2003 when the casket company closed and Syracuse Fire Chief Mark McLees immediately said it was suspicious.
Investigators interviewed neighbors and viewed surveillance videos taken before the fire was reported at about 3 a.m. Sept. 29.
They also went back to interview Emm, Cheney, Smith and Martin, all of whom were suspects in the fire that heavily damaged the northeast corner of the building on Jan. 21, 2009, Senior Assistant District Attorney Timothy Hennigan said. That is where Marsellus Casket's offices were housed before the company closed in 2003.
The court papers indicate Emm was involved in that arson, although no formal charge is lodged against him in that case. Based on his date of birth he would have been a juvenile at that time.
The court papers claim that the defendants ignited the spray from aerosol cans that set fire to a mattress. They also were accused of then increasing the size of the fire by adding chemicals and other kindling to the blaze.
Hennigan described the four defendants as “basically runaway kids and transients who sometimes lived in the building.”
Once investigators began questioning them about last week's fire they began making statements implicating each other, Hennigan said. Evidence indicates only Emm was involved in the more recent fire, Hennigan said. He declined to elaborate.
Arrest reports indicate all four defendants were arrested Wednesday at the Public Safety Building.
All four are scheduled to be arraigned this morning before City Judge Langston McKinney.
Third-degree arson is a class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in state prison.
Charley Hannagan and John Mariani contributed to this report.
See previous coverage of the Marsellus Casket Co. fire and demolition.