Teen accused of arson, attempted murder to be tried in juvenile court

EAST HUNTINGDON, Pa. — An East Huntingdon teenager will be prosecuted in juvenile court on attempted murder and arson charges in connection with two fires set at a neighbor's home last year.

Westmoreland County Judge Debra A. Pezze ruled Wednesday that Ricky Wayne Wilson, now 17, is amenable to treatment in the juvenile court system and would benefit from his case being removed from adult court.

Wilson, then 16, was charged as an adult after police said he set fire to the home of another teen on Liberty Street near Scottdale on June 13, 2011. Police said an attempt to set fire to the home five days before was thwarted by a neighbor with a garden hose.

According to court records, the second fire destroyed the $150,000 home owned by the Walter Weltz family.

State police contend Wilson set the fires as part of an ongoing feud with the Weltzes' 16-year-old son. Walter Weltz's wife and her sister narrowly escaped the second blaze, which started about 1:45 a.m. The first fire broke out at 5:15 a.m. and caused about $10,000 in damage, according to court records.

Police said Wilson admitted to online friends via a social-networking site and an Xbox video game that he set the fires.

In one post, Wilson wrote that he set the fires because he was bored and hated the Weltzes' son, police said.

Police contended that in another posting, Wilson boasted he would not be arrested because he had an alibi and had left no evidence behind.

Pezze said the circumstances of the crimes, which she said "lacked sophistication," played a role in her decision to send Wilson's case to juvenile court.

"Since the first fire was small and was extinguished by a garden hose, and the second fire was ignited in the same location, the intention of the arsonist is somewhat ambiguous," Pezze said.

Still, the judge ruled that those facts warranted Wilson being prosecuted in adult court.

It was Wilson's prior behavior, his good school performance, a rocky home life and no evidence that he had a history of playing with fire that led the judge to transfer the case.

Psychologists hired by both the prosecution and the defense issued reports that stated Wilson's case was better suited to the juvenile court system.

"After consideration of all these factors, it is this court's conclusion that a preponderance of the evidence establishes that both the public interest, as well as the interests of this juvenile, are best served if this case is transferred to the juvenile court system," Pezze wrote.

If Wilson's case were left in adult court, he could have faced a sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Because his case will be prosecuted in the juvenile system, he can be supervised by the courts only until his 21st birthday.

This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

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