State College police on Monday charged two Warriors Mark men for their alleged involvement in a May dumpster fire that caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Arthur E. Forshey, 68, and Austin T. Osborne, 26, are both charged with misdemeanor counts of failure to prevent catastrophe. Osborne also is charged with misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief.
Police and Alpha Fire Company were dispatched at about 10:50 a.m. on May 12 to 403 Locust Lane where a dumpster behind a fraternity house was fully engulfed in flames that were nearing an overhead power line and within feet of the residence, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Several witnesses reported seeing two men who appeared to be dumpster diving for scrap metal minutes before the fire and who were traveling in a red pickup truck, according to the affidavit.
Home security camera footage showed two men arriving in a red Honda pickup, police wrote. The video then showed one man in the dumpster and one man standing outside. The man inside the dumpster allegedly could be heard saying he found a working lighter, and then white smoke began to rise.
The man inside the dumpster began stomping in the area of the smoke, before the two men drove away in the pickup as smoke continued to billow, police wrote.
The fire caused more than $4,600 in damage, according to the affidavit, including $3,542 for repairs to the dumpster, $355 to replace large roller recycling bins and $716 to repair a melted soffit at the rear entrance of the house.
After police issued a media release on May 14 seeking the public’s help identifying the two men, Forshey came forward on May 16 as the owner of the pickup and said he was the man standing outside the dumpster, police wrote. Another report identified the other man as Osborne.
In an interview with an investigator the following day, the men said they are neighbors and sometimes get together to collect scrap metal. Forshey allegedly claimed that “he was unaware of any fire, even though the video showed noticeable smoke coming from the dumpster while Forshey stood outside it,” police wrote.
Osborne initially said he was smoking a cigarette that caused the contents of the dumpster to catch fire, according to the affidavit. After being told no cigarette could be seen in the video, he allegedly admitted that he found a lighter inside the dumpster and struck it to see if it worked, causing the fire.
He tried to stomp the fire out but was unsuccessful. He allegedly said he should have reported the fire but “was scare of what consequences he may face due to being on probation.”
Both men were charged via summons. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 12.