East Toledo man gets 4 years prison for house fire

11/2/2012

An East Toledo man has been sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in setting fire to a North Toledo home.

Gerald Kanavel, 32, of 639 Woodville Rd., appeared in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday. He had previously entered an Alford plea to one count of aggravated arson for burning down the vacant house at 1950 N. Superior St. A sealed plea agreement was a part of the deal.

Authorities said firefighters responded to the blaze at about 8 p.m. on June 17. Once extinguished, the fire was determined to have been started when an “ignitable liquid” was poured onto “ordinary combustibles” and lit.

Per the plea agreement, Judge Linda Jennings dismissed 14 additional counts of aggravated arson and one count of arson to another’s property. The aggravated-arson counts were based on the number of firefighters put at risk.