May 22--DEFIANCE -- A Defiance firefighter, 29, charged with starting a fire in his garage pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Mark Paul Seibert pleaded guilty Tuesday in Defiance County Common Pleas Court to two counts of criminal damaging, both first-degree misdemeanors.
Judge Joseph Schmenk placed him on nonreporting probation for two years and ordered him to pay $1,651 in restitution to the State Fire Marshal's Office, which investigated the case, and the Highland Township Fire Department, which responded.
An auxiliary firefighter with Defiance fire department and volunteer firefighter with South Richland and Highland Township departments, he was indicted in 2012 on two felony counts of aggravated arson in a June fire.
His lawyer said he was working on a mower that caught fire in the garage.
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