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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (TCD) — A 56-year-old man faces charges after allegedly intentionally setting two properties ablaze last month.
According to a news release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, on Dec. 29, at around 8:30 p.m., Lower Moreland Police officers responded to a home on Huntingdon Pike in reference to a shed fire. Police put out the flames with an extinguisher before firefighters arrived.
During a search of the shed, investigators reportedly found a can of fire-starting fluid, as well as a can of a highly flammable product called “Gum Cutter.”
Firefighters and Upper Moreland Police responded to another fire at JG Transmissions, a mechanic shop at 616 Davis Road, approximately 15 minutes later. Officials said the building was “engulfed in flames, with the worst of the fire centered around the front office area of the building.”
JG Transmissions sustained significant damage, and the flames “completely destroyed” the building, while the shed suffered limited damage, according to the district attorney’s office.
On the morning of the fire, 56-year-old Sean Gahagan, who used to work for JG Transmissions, allegedly went to the mechanic shop to ask for work but was denied. He was reportedly wearing a camouflage jacket at the time and drove to the business in a red Chevrolet Cobalt.
According to the district attorney’s office and police, a man is seen on surveillance footage parking near JG Transmissions. The man is then shown running from the car to the mechanic shop and then back to the car around six minutes before police received the call about the fire.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage near the shed as well, which shows Gahagan’s vehicle shortly before officers found out about the shed arson, authorities said. License plate readers near the area reportedly captured the plate number, confirming the car belongs to Gahagan.
Lebanon City Police apprehended Gahagan on Jan. 1 on suspicion of trespassing in a church. He was reportedly wearing the same camouflage jacket seen in surveillance footage.
According to WTXF-TV, Gahagan confessed to setting the two buildings ablaze.
Court documents reviewed by the news source allege Gahagan owed $80,000 in restitution to the man who owned the property with the shed. Gahagan was reportedly ordered to pay the money after setting fire to the property in the past, and he “felt cheated.”
Gahagan faces charges of first-degree felony arson, as well as felony counts of arson, risking catastrophe, burglary, theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief, and possessing an instrument of crime.
Gahagan appeared in court for his arraignment on Jan. 19, and he was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility with a bail of $500,000.
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