Franklin County man denied bail on arson charges after fire destroys hay barn
A Franklin County man is accused of setting a barn on fire while state troopers were nearby responding to a report that he threw rocks at a moving vehicle, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Ray Walter Coldsmith Jr. is in Franklin County Jail to await trial on charges of arson and related offenses, according to online court records. Magisterial District Judge Kristin Nicklas, Greene Township, denied bail because "no bail condition available to ensure defendant and communities safety," according to Coldsmith's court docket.
Police were dispatched shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday to a home in the 1000 block of Coldsmith Road, located east of Interstate 81 in the Scotland area, to investigate a report of criminal mischief.
A relative of Coldsmith told police he was driving home when the defendant threw two rocks at his pickup truck, according to court documents. The first went through the driver's side window and the second struck the passenger door, damaging it.
While talking to the man and his wife about Coldsmith's appearance, a trooper realized he had seen the defendant walking in a field down the road. He was wearing an orange shirt and pants, as the couple described, and was holding a red object that the trooper believed was a gas can, according to court documents.
A fire was then seen in the distance, at a property down Coldsmith Road. Police went to check it out and found a hay-filled barn ablaze, according to court documents.
A trooper described seeing the fire grow and spread to the first two rows of the surrounding cornfield. Franklin Fire Co., Chambersburg, described it as a "heavy fire" to a 40-foot by 50-foot hay barn in a Facebook post.
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Police found Coldsmith down the road. He had a lighter in his pocket, hay on his body, char marks on his shirt, burns on two fingers on his right hand and he smelled of gasoline, police wrote in court documents.
Coldsmith, 43, of Shippensburg, faces five felony counts including first- and second-degree arson, reckless burning or exploding, causing catastrophe and criminal mischief and is charged with a misdemeanor count each of criminal mischief and agricultural vandalism, according to court records. He is also cited for dangerous burning and disorderly conduct.
Coldsmith's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on July 23 in Franklin County Central Court, located in courtroom six at the Franklin County Judicial Center.
No attorney information is listed.
Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Shippensburg man denied bail, charged with arson after barn fire
