Man pleads guilty to attempted arson

CELINA - A Germantown man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to an amended charge of attempted aggravated arson in connection to a fire he set in March that damaged his and his wife's Montezuma mobile home.

Ricky L. Miller, 60, agreed to plead guilty to the amended charge in exchange for the dropping of one first-degree felony charge of aggravated arson and a fourth-degree felony charge of arson. Another condition of the plea deal was that Miller would pay $1,462.80 in restitution to the Ohio State Fire Marshal.

Miller and his wife owned a mobile home in Park Grand Resort at 6620 Bruce Road, which the couple used for vacations. Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Erin Minor said on or about March 7, Miller entered the mobile home and started a fire at the north wall before leaving the home and locking the door behind him. Montezuma Fire Chief Lee Braun previously told the newspaper that investigators had found no source, including electrical issues, that could have caused the fire in the area where the flames had ignited.

At the time of the fire, Park Grand owner Buzz Goodwin reportedly was renovating the park and older trailers were being removed from the premises, Braun said. Investigators believed Miller either didn't want to pay or didn't have the money to have the mobile home removed from the lot, he added.