PITTSBURGH -- A former volunteer firefighter who police said sprayed lighter fluid on a burning couch during a Super Bowl celebration got his charges reduced Monday after completing a program for first-time offenders.
Andrew Ablog left the Allegheny County Courthouse with a smile on his face, telling reporters he was relieved that the case was finally over after months of stress.
"I think I was targeted somewhat, only because of the, I believe, 80-some people arrested that night -- from what I saw on the news, anyway -- this was all taken care of within a month of when it happened. This dragged on for about six months for me," Ablog said.
Ablog, 22, entered the accelerated rehabilitative disposition (ARD) program after being arrested and charged with arson for helping to set a couch on fire after the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1.
A judge on Monday sentenced Ablog to 90 days of probation for a disorderly conduct charge that was reduced to a summary offense and 90 days of probation for a dangerous burning charge, WTAE Channel 4's Amber Nicotra reported.
According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police used
WTAE Channel 4's video of post-Super Bowl mayhem to identify Ablog as the shirtless, tattooed man seen pouring lighter fluid on a couch on Oakland Avenue near the University of Pittsburgh campus.
"He's a good kid," said Ablog's mother, Deanna, who accompanied him to the courthouse on Monday. "I mean, every mother wants to say her kid's good. He's a good kid. It's just something stupid that was done."
At the time of his arrest, Ablog was a Pitt student and a firefighter with the Monaca Volunteer Fire Department. In the wake of the charges, he was suspended from school and released from the fire department.
Ablog will be allowed to re-apply to Pitt in January. He said he isn't sure if he will do that, but he plans to change the way he celebrates the Steelers' victories in the future.
Following the Steelers' Super Bowl victory, Pittsburgh police said a number of people broke windows, overturned cars and set fires in the streets of the Oakland neighborhood. A bus shelter was torn down on Fifth Avenue.
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