PSP: Midtown Harrisburg woman at rehab set fire to book, told troopers she ‘just wanted to go home’
MAHANOY CITY – A Dauphin County woman, one day into her treatment at a drug and alcohol treatment center here, set fire to a book, telling police she “just wanted to go home.”
Jody Thomas, 52, of midtown Harrisburg, is now in Schuylkill County Prison on arson charges.
According to the criminal complaint filed against her by Trooper Shane Clark of the State Police at Frackville, Thomas checked in at Silver Pines Treatment Center on White Owl Drive in Mahanoy Township on Saturday.
Sunday afternoon, Mahanoy City firefighters were called to the facility for a small fire, and troopers were subsequently requested, as firefighters said over the radio that the incident was intentional.
Thomas said she had been trying to leave the facility all day Sunday and wasn’t able to.
She then set a notebook aflame in Room 205, put it on the dresser, and left the room.
Asked by troopers why, she said “I don’t know, I just wanted to go home.”
Thomas said she was not trying to harm anyone in the act.
Charred material and burn markings were found in the room, as was a lighter.
The care coordinator at the facility said he discovered the fire when he heard an audible fire alarm. The alarm panel indicated it was set off in Room 205 and found smoke coming from the room, which was unoccupied.
The building was evacuated and the coordinator found a notebook and folder aflame. He took the flaming items out an emergency exit, threw them in the grass, and stomped the fire out.
Thomas was arraigned Sunday on felony arson, criminal mischief, and misdemeanor reckless endangerment charges and committed to Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post $75,000 cash bail.
A preliminary hearing is set for April 25.
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