Beer Can DNA Brings Arson Charge In Westmoreland BlazeConnellsville Man Accused Of Torching E. Huntingdon HomePOSTED: 12:24 pm EDT June 24,
2009 SCOTTDALE, Pa. -- State police say they used DNA found on a discarded beer can to link a Connellsville man to a fire that caused $200,000 damage to an unoccupied house in Westmoreland County.John Kimmel, 58, is jailed on charges of arson, burglary and reckless endangerment that were filed by a state police fire marshal. Online court records do not list an attorney for Kimmel.East Huntingdon fire Chief Jeff Keefer called in the fire marshal after the March 21 blaze on Buckeye Road because witnesses saw an apparently intoxicated man stumbling near the house and then away from it shortly before the fire.Authorities found a beer can and later learned Kimmel had been to the house a couple days earlier, asking about who owned it.Police said a cheek swab from Kimmel that was obtained by a search warrant was consistent with DNA on the mouth of the beer can.Kimmel is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $100,000 bond. A preliminary hearing before Scottdale District Judge J. Bruce King is scheduled for July 1.
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