May 18, 2015 2 min read

NORTH CHARLEROI – A Vestaburg man was jailed Monday on accusations he doused a Mon Valley woman’s home with gasoline and made several attempts to ignite it with a cigarette lighters that morning.

Charleroi Regional police arrested Bryan Stotka, 34, at 414 Conrad Avenue in North Charleroi after officers were summoned there to investigate arson attempts, court records indicate.

Police said officers learned Stotka was still inside the residence after seeing Meredith McDonald and Heather McGuire standing outside about 4:15 a.m. Police were familiar with him because they had previously responded to “physically violent” disturbances involving him and McDonald, who resides at 414 Conrad Ave., the record shows.

McGuire told police her boyfriend was inside McDonald’s home trying to stop Stotka from setting it on fire, court records indicate.

Police said they smelled a strong odor of gasoline upon going inside the home. Gasoline also was covering the living room floor, police stated in the affidavit.

Stotka was allegedly heavily intoxicated and irate when police took him into custody, and a pink cigarette lighter was found in one of his pockets, police said.

Kossar and McGuire later reported that each of them had received text messages from Stotka that indicated he was threatening to set McDonald’s residence on fire.

Kossar said he went to the house, found Stotka sleeping in the living room and grabbed a gasoline can that was sitting next to Stotka. Stotka then awoke and started fighting with Kossar, a disturbance that carried into the kitchen, police said. Kossar said Stotka was using the lighter there to attempt to start a fire, the affidavit indicates. Kossar said Stotka then left the residence after he was able to stop Stotka from setting a fire, police said.

Stotka, according to Kossar, returned and the two men fought again. Police arrived in the kitchen at that time and were told by Kossar that Stotka had made yet another unsuccessful attempt to start a fire, the record shows.

Stotka, of 15 Sixth St., was charged with three counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of attempted arson and one count each of risking a catastrophe and disorderly conduct.

He was sent to Washington County jail on $100,000 bond set by District Judge Larry Hopkins.