BROOKVILLE, Penn. (AP) -- A former Jefferson County volunteer firefighter is convicted of arson and intimidation after pleading guilty Thursday to his role in several fires set in that county beginning in 2002.
Wade Northey pleaded guilty Thursday, avoiding a trial. His attorney says Northey, who was 20 years old at the time of the fires, was too young for the leadership he had in Brookville Volunteer Fire Department. He was the treasurer and lieutenant.
Prosecutors say a group of firefighters set fires in 2002 and 2003 to various vacant structures around the small borough of Brookville, about 70 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. No one was injured in the fires, which police say the firefighters set for excitement.
Last week, the former president of the fire department, Ryan Rishel, was convicted of arson, burglary and related charges.
Three other defendants still face trial.
