Formal charges have been filed against two Mount Joy teens who police say started an arson fire that destroyed the Joyland Fun Fort at Kunkle Park on Sept 28, 2012.
Angelo Louie-Patrick Zeno, 18, of Mount Joy, and a 17-year-old juvenile are facing numerous charges including arson, criminal conspiracy to commit arson, causing or risking a catastrophe and institutional vandalism.
Police say Zeno and the juvenile doused wooden playground equipment with a flammable liquid and lit it on fire. Officers responded to the scene after numerous residents called 911 after hearing a loud explosion in the park.
Both Zeno and his juvenile counterpart were injured in the blaze. They were taken to the Lehigh Medical Center and Crozer-Chester Medical Center for treatment of severe burns.
Officers found two empty gas cans at the entrance of the playground and another partially melted can near the burning equipment, court documents revealed. Earlier that day, five gas cans had been reported stolen from a storage shed at the Camp Hill Cemetery along Terrace Road y. They were the same gas cans used to in the arson, according to court documents.
The fire caused $114, 425 in damage to the community-built playground, according to police reports.