By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
A Glasgow arson case has been forwarded to a Barren County grand jury following a preliminary hearing on July 14.
Nineteen-year-old Shawn Green was arrested by Glasgow police after he allegedly lit a firework in the basement of a duplex on Village Circle, which caused the Glasgow firefighters to “breach both the ceiling and walls of the fire room to ensure no spread of the fire before declaring a knockdown,” according to a prior Glasgow Fire Department press release.
He is charged with first-degree arson and multiple counts of wanton endangerment.
At his preliminary hearing, his attorney argued that Green’s charge should be third-degree arson and not first-degree arson because “he did not intend to damage or destroy the building.” He cited Glasgow police officer Jordan Saltsman’s testimony that Green had left before the fire began and that Green said he meant it “as a funny joke.”
Judge Gabe Pendleton found probable cause to forward his case. Green will not have another court appearance unless the grand jury decides to indict.
Kentucky Revised Statute states that first-degree arson — the most serious arson charge — occurs when the person has the reason to believe the building is occupied or inhabited. Third-degree arson occurs when the person ” wantonly causes destruction or damage to a building of his own or of another by intentionally starting a fire or causing an explosion.”
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