HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023 newspaper articles re fireThur
Kevin Conlon
say
City Editor
Comm,,unle
dd
c er , 2023
news@cortlandstandard com
3Man,
accusect of setting trailer ablaze
with women inside
y LILY BYRNE
"The defendant, with intent
Officers ' determined Clark
"The defendant did pile up
Clark was'' located in Trux-
without bail.
Staff Reporter
to cause the death of another
barricaded the entrance and
debris on the front porch and
ton on foot Sept. 28, and was
He was arrested five days pri-
ibyrne@cortlandstandard.com.
person, did attempt to cause
exit to the residence and set it
in front of the main entrance to
arrested at 7:35 p.m. with the
or to the fire for burglarizing a
A Truxton man has been ac-
the death of Allestir L. Forest
on fire, due to a dispute regard-
the mobile home and did ignite
assistance of the Cortland Po-
residential home.
cured of barricading two people
by recklessly engaging in con-
ing property that was inside the
the debris' with gasoline,; which
lice Department, Homer Police
As of Friday; the residence
inside a trailer and setting it on,
duct which i created a grave risk
residence. He then fled the scene
the defendant believed to be oc-
Department and the New York
still smelled of smoke. While
fire.
of death to Allestir L. Forest
and a warrant was put out for his
cupied at the time, and was, in
` State Police. ;
the majority of the outside strut -
Matthew S. Clark, 37, of
and the defendant, while doing
arrest on the charge of second-
fact, occupied by Casey K. Kir-
During the arrest he was also
ture of the trailer is still intact,
Cheningo Solon Pond Road in
so, did engage in such conduct
I degree arson. `
key and Allestir L. Forest," the
` found' to be in possession of a
nearly the entire inside and out-
Truxton, was charged with sec-
under circumstances evincing a
A few days dater, the District
indictment says.
controlled substance. He was
er-facing' wall was destroyed.
ond-degree attempted murder,
depraved indifference to human
Attomey's, office presented the
A temporary order of protec-
arraigned at 3:15 p.m. Friday in
The empty shell of the resi-
second-degree arson, second-
life," the indictment says. °
case to the Cortland County,
tion was granted' to these two
Cortland County Court.
dence, which is located in the,
degree criminal mischief, first-
On Sept.17, officers respond-
Grand !Jury, who then indicted
individuals, banning Clark from
Clark has been arrested sever-
back corner of the trailer park,
degree reckless endangerment,
ed to a residence at 11 Kingsley
him with second-degree °at-
their home, school, business and
al times this year, for several dif-
is surrounded by ash and vari-
felonies; and ; seventh -degree
Ave. at Penguin Trailer Park for
tempted murder, second-degree
places of employment.
ferent misdemeanor and felony
ous debris. Random items, such
criminal' possession of a con-
a structure' fire, a news release
arson; second-degree' criminal
The amount of damage caused
level 'offenses, the release says,
as autumn decor and a child's
trolled substance, a rnisdemean-
from the Cortland County Sher-
mischief, first -degree reckless
to the property was over $1,500,
but due to the New York State
umbrella, are littered throughout
or.
iff's Office says.
endangerment, felonies.
the indictment says.
Bail 'Reform he was released
the debris.
2023 daily No. 217 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2023 CORTLAND, N.Y.
Truxton man charged with arson, attempted murder
Lily Byrne/ Staff Reporter
Pictured is the trailer at Penguin Trailer Park that police say
burned due to arson on Sept. 17.
By KEVIN CONLON
City Editor
kconlon@cortlandstandard.com
A 37-year-old Truxton man
was charged with attempted
murder for setting a fire Sept.
17 to a mobile home on Kings-
ley Avenue in Cortlandville and
barricaded the main exit while
two residents were inside, ac-
cording to the Cortland County
Sheriff's Office.
Matthew S. Clark, of Chen-
ingo Solon Pond Road, was
charged with second-degree at-
tempted murder, second-degree
arson, second-degree criminal
mischief, first -degree reckless
endangerment, felonies; and
seventh -degree criminal pos-
session of a controlled sub-
stance, a misdemeanor.
Authorities were alerted to
the fire in Penguin Trailer Park
about 3:10 a.m. Sept. 17, ac-
cording to the Cortlandville
Fire Department, which said no
injuries were reported.
"On arrival firefighters en-
countered heavy fire condi-
tions on an enclosed attached
porch," according to a fire de-
partment news release issued
shortly after the fire. "Firefight-
ers attacked the bulk of the fire
from the outside. The fire was
knocked down in 15 minutes."
"During the investigation it
was determined that the De-
fendant, Matthew S. Clark,
barricaded the main entrance/
exit to the residence while two
residents were inside the resi-
dence," according to a news
release issued early Friday
afternoon by the Sheriff's Of-
fice. "Mr. Clark then started the
residence on fire over a dispute
regarding property that was in-
side the residence. Mr. Clark
then fled the scene and was un-
able to be located."
An arrest warrant for the sec-
ond-degree arson charge was
issued for Clark.
A few days later, the coun-
ty District Attorney's Office
presented the case in front of
a grand jury, which indicted
Clark on the attempted murder,
arson, criminal mischief and
reckless endangerment charges.
Clark appeared Friday after-
noon before County Court Jus-
tice David Alexander, where a
sealed indictment for the felony
charges was opened. Clark's
lawyer, Janice L. Stafford, en-
tered a not guilty plea on his
behalf.
Stafford requested nominal
bail for her client, saying he is
unemployed and has no income
or assets.
See ARSON, page 6
ARSON
continued from page 1
"He has nothing to his name,"
she said.
Alexander went along with
the recommendation of the
county District Attorney's Of-
fice, which asked for $250,000
cash, $500,000 bond or $1 mil-
lion bond with 10% collateral.
The causeof the fire was in-
vestigated by the Cortlandville
Fire Department, the state Fire
Investigation Team and the
county Sheriff's Office. Cor-
tlandville Deputy Fire Chief
Mike Biviano referred ques-
tions on the cause of the fire to
the Sheriff's Office.
A Superior Court Warrant of
Arrest was signed Thursday for
Clark on the full list of charges
that were later filed against him.
The Sheriff's Office received
a tip at 5:43 p.m. Thursday that
Clark was seen in the Truxton
area. Sheriffs officers found
Clark, who fled on foot. With
the assistance of the Cortland
Police Department, Homer Po-
lice Department and state po-
lice,'the Sheriff's Office arrested
Clark.
During the arrest, Clark was
found to be in possession of
an unspecified controlled sub-
stance, according to police.
Sheriff' Mark Helms' noted
that Clark has been arrested
several times this year for mis-
demeanors and felonies but,
due to state bail reform, he was
released on his own recogni-
zance. Before Friday, Clark'
was arrested most recently for
burglarizing a home on Sept.',
12, five days before the arson,
and released pending a future'
court appearance, according to
Helms.
Lt. Garry Williams, a Sher-
iff's Office investigator; noted
Friday afternoon that one of the
victims of the arson received a
cut foot while fleeing the fire.'
Williams declined to identify;
the residents or release addi-
tional details of the case, saying
he did not want to compromise'
the investigation.
As of Friday morning, the
mobile home where the fire oc-
curred still smelled of smoke.
While the majority of the ex-
terior structure of the mobile
home is still intact, nearly the
entire inside and one 'exterior
wall were destroyed.
The empty shell of the resi-
dence, which is located in the
back corner of the mobile home
park, is surrounded by ash and
various debris. Random items,
such as autumn decor and a
child's umbrella, are littered
throughout the lot.
The Sheriff's Office on Friday
also charged Clark with third-
degree grand larceny for the
unrelated theft of a vehicle from
Hope Lake Lodge at 2177 Clutie
Road in Virgil. He was arrested
on that charge at 11:03 a.m. Fri-
day while awaiting arraignment
in County Jail on the attempted
murder and arson charges.
The vehicle, which was later
recovered unoccupied with no
one 'around it, was reportedi
missing on Sept. 18 and police`
determined it was taken at 6
p.m. the previous day, the day
of the mobile home fire.
Stafford entered a not guilty
plea for Clark on the grand
larceny charge. She requested
nominal bail for that case and
Assistant District Attorney
Richard Van Donsel agreed,;
but Alexander decided to re-
mand Clark to jail with no bail
set. The judge said he would be
willing to reconsider that deci-
sion later.
The larceny case will be pro-
cessed in Virgil Town Court.
Staff reporter Lily Byrne con-
tributed to this article.