Man charged with arson, reckless endangerment following domestic incident in Lancaster
Mamelto Gonzalez, 33, allegedly lit a couch on fire while one adult and three children were inside a home.
Credit: Lancaster Bureau of Police Author: Isabel Soisson (FOX43) Updated: 11:22 AM EDT May 17, 2021
LANCASTER, Pa. Mamelto Gonzalez, 33, has been charged with arson, reckless endangerment, and several other charges following an incident in Lancaster on May 13.
At approximately 11 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 700 block of Almanac Avenue. The caller told police that Gonzalez had set fire to the living room and there were people trapped on the second floor.
Upon arrival, officers located Gonzalez outside of the residence and smoke was noticeable on the inside. The officers forced their way into the home and found that there was no longer an active fire, but the couch was smoldering and there was smoke throughout the home.
A Lancaster city man started a fire on the first floor of a house while a woman and three children were in a second-floor room, according to Lancaster city police.
Mamelto Gonzalez, 33, was arrested after police were called at 10:58 p.m. Thursday, May 13, to the house in the 700 block of Almanac Avenue after a woman called and reported that a man was breaking items in the house.
A woman inside the residence called 911 and reported that Gonzalez set the living room on fire while there were people trapped on the second floor, police said.
Gonzalez set the living room on fire shortly before officers arrived, police said. The fire was out by the time officers forced their way into the home, but smoke was throughout the house and the couch was smoldering.
A man is charged with setting a fire last week in a Lancaster home.Police said they arrested Mamelto Gonzalez, 33, after the fire Thursday night in the 700 block of Almanac Avenue.A woman and her three young children were safely evacuated from a second-floor bedroom, police said.According to police, Gonzalez lit a couch on fire, punched holes in the walls and damaged several items of furniture.The woman was able to extinguish the fire and lock Gonzalez outside, police said, and she then locked herself and the children in the bedroom until police arrived.Gonzalez is charged with arson, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief.