Jaison Trout

State police said a 41-year-old man admitted to swiping comic books, clothing and credit cards after breaking into a vacant home in Center Township.

Later, Jaison L. Trout, who has no known address, recounted that he returned to the alleged scene of the crime, investigators said, and lit three separate fires July 29 at the house at 500 Sunset Drive.

A passer-by noticed flames coming from the single-story home around 11 p.m. and called 911. Volunteer firefighters from Unionville and two other departments responded and put out the blaze.

No one was injured, but the fire caused an estimated damage of more than $50,000.

Police on Thursday charged Trout with burglary, trespass, arson, risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief, all felonies. He also is charged with misdemeanor counts of theft and access device fraud, stemming from the investigation.

The charges come one day after state police arrested Trout in the back of the Center Township Elementary School on Mercer Road with a set of nunchucks.

On Wednesday, District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned the defendant on misdemeanor charges of possession of a prohibited offensive weapon and possession of a weapon on school property. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bond.

Stoughton arraigned Trout on the latest charges Thursday, and imposed another $50,000 bond. Additionally, he ordered Trout to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Police said they also suspect that the defendant for weeks before his arrest had been walking in and around the yards of homes in the same area of the township, and looking through windows. He could still face more charges, they noted, including loitering and prowling at night.

Trooper Sean Christofferson, a deputy fire marshal, investigated the fire, police said, and he found that it started in a corner bedroom on or around a mattress.

He also found two other separate fire points — one in the kitchen and the other in the basement.

Due to the findings, the fire was ruled arson. Firefighters previously reported there were no utilities connected to the house at the time of the blaze.

During his investgation, Christofferson went to the nearby Kwik Fill store at Route 8 and Mercer Road in search of surveillance video that could provide clues. The manager recalled a man had been in the store prior to the fire and was “acting strangely,” police said.

The man tried unsuccessfully to purchase items with several credit/debit cards. Two of the cards were in the name of a deceased woman who was one of the last listed owners of the house on Sunset Drive.

The man, later identified as Trout, was captured on store security video. The footage eventually showed the defendant walking from the store to the home.

“A short time after the defendant disappears from view,” according to charging documents, “flames can be seen through the western-most window at the front of the house.”

Following Trout's arrest Wednesday for having the nunchucks, police interviewed him about the fire. He told investigators he had entered the home without permission on several different occasions, looking for clothing and money.

Police said they believe Trout was homeless, but that he had been temporarily staying with a friend at Timberly Heights on Sunset Drive near Mercer Road.

Before the night of the fire, he recalled, he took clothing items and comic books, police said. On the night of the fire, he allegedly admitted that he took the credits cards and went to the Kwik Fill.

When he was in the house that night, documents said, he advised that he “intentionally ignited available combustibles in order to create some light, so he could see his surroundings in the residence.”

He acknowledged lighting fires in the bedroom, in the kitchen and in the basement, documents said.

“He stated he was not trying to burn the house down,” documents said, “and once he realized there was a fire, he left to attempt to get a fire extinguisher.