Downingtown police say they caught arson 'copycats'

Two juveniles who admitted craving "the attention and excitement" that the series of Coatesville arsons has created were taken into custody for setting car fires, Downingtown police said yesterday.

Chief James R. McGowan said the evidence suggested that the defendants, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old, both of whom were known to police, were "copycats." He said officers responded at 2:14 a.m. Wednesday to the 300 block of Stone Alley for a burning vehicle. The officers followed footprints in the snow to several other vehicles that had rags ignited in their gas tanks and then to a residence in the 300 block of Mary Street, where the boys were charged with arson, criminal conspiracy and related offenses, McGowan said.

He said "good police work and a little bit of luck" resulted in the boys' quick apprehension. "Anyone who doesn't think what happens in Coatesville affects the rest of us is wrong," he said. "This is a perfect example of how bad behavior can be learned, with no respect to municipal boundaries." - Kathleen Brady Shea