Rochester man charged after fire destroys house

Nov. 20--ROCHESTER -- A borough man's ankle monitoring bracelet put him at the scene of a suspicious fire that destroyed a Reno Street home in August.

Leander Maybin, 21, was charged Tuesday by Rochester police with causing a catastrophe, failure to prevent a catastrophe, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and false reporting following the Aug. 14 fire.

Officers responded to a structure fire around 5:30 a.m. at 267 Reno St. and saw the second floor was engulfed in flames, according to a police report. Firefighters got the blaze under control, and no one was found inside the home.

According to police:

Neighbors reported that Maybin lived in the home and had been seen going in and out over the last month. Officers noticed Maybin and another man were walking up and down the sidewalk in front of the home while they spoke to neighbors.

Maybin told police he was not living there anymore; he was living at a relative's house on Connecticut Avenue.

The house was deemed a total loss by the insurance company, the homeowner told police. It was valued at $50,000.

The fire marshal was called to investigate and found the blaze was set intentionally. The fire marshal said there were two origin points for the fire: in the eastern bedroom upstairs and the western bedroom upstairs.

Officers spoke with Maybin's probation officer, who provided police with a map showing the location of Maybin's ankle monitoring bracelet starting at midnight Aug. 14.

At the time of the fire, Maybin was out on bail and awaiting trial for a case out of New Brighton where he was charged with robbery, aggravated assault and theft, according to online court records. Electronic monitoring can be a condition of pre-trial release.

Maybin's bracelet was "pinged" at 267 Reno St. several times that morning, including around 5:20 a.m., just before the fire was reported.

Officers talked again with Maybin, who admitted to being at the Reno Street home the morning of the fire. Maybin told police he had gone there with a friend around midnight to get his wallet but denied any part in starting the fire.

After the officer told Maybin about the ankle bracelet locations, he admitted to going back to the home later. Maybin said his friend was playing with a bottle of cologne and a lighter to make flames. The flames caught a drum set on fire, which then ignited the floor.

Maybin said they got a towel to put out the fire, but the towel also caught fire. The men panicked and ran.

The friend was later interviewed by police. The friend said he and Maybin went to the Reno Street home to get Maybin's wallet when two girls texted Maybin to hang out.

The four were upstairs in the eastern bedroom of the home when Maybin started spraying cologne against the lighter to make flames, the friend said. After the drum set caught on fire, Maybin got a towel to put out the fire but the towel also caught fire.

The friend said Maybin threw the flaming towel in the western bedroom and all four of them ran from the home.

One of the girls was also interviewed and confirmed the friend's story to police.

Maybin, of 395 Connecticut Ave., was in the Beaver County Jail after failing to post $50,000 bond.

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