Hearing date set for accused arsonist

GREENCASTLE -- A Bainbridge man accused of burglarizing a house and then setting it on fire will be in Putnam County Circuit Court for a pretrial conference on July 22.

Joseph S. Meanor, 25, is charged with Class B felony arson, two counts of Class B felony burglary and one count of Class D felony theft. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to up to 63 years in prison.

According to a case narrative prepared by Bainbridge Police Department Chief James Fenwick, Fenwick was informed on the evening of June 10 that a house located at 104 College St. in Bainbridge was on fire.

"On arrival I found that the house had smoke coming from the west end of the building," Fenwick wrote. "Bainbridge Fire was arriving at the same time. All power and services to the property had been shut off for some time."

Court records said a neighbor told Fenwick she had seen a small, blue car at 104 College St., and that she had "observed a male subject about 5 feet, 10 inches with brown, short hair in his early 20s going in the side door of the residence," and "she thought someone had purchased property and did not think about it again until she observed the smoke about 15 minutes later."

Later that evening, court records said, Fenwick was contacted by an individual who said Meanor had told him he had stolen prescription medication from an individual, broken into a residence on Depot Street in Bainbridge and has set the house on College Street on fire.

After a consent for a search was obtained, officers found pills and a shotgun in the trunk of Meanor's car.

The individual who lives in the house on Depot Street was interviewed. She told police Meanor has been to her house "twice in the last couple of days," and that she was missing Trazadone and Xanax pills, as well as $74 in cash. The pills, she told police, were missing from her home matched those found in Meanor's car, court records said.

Meanor has been lodged at the Putnam County Jail since June 11. His bond was set by Judge Matthew Headley at $50,000 cash only. Meanor is being represented by public defender Todd Sallee.

Aside from a few traffic violations and citations, Meanor has no criminal history in Putnam County.