Former Volunteer Firefighter Pleads Guilty To Arson

CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) -- A former Baltimore Pike Volunteer firefighter has pleaded guilty to four arson-related charges in connection with a string of Cumberland fires.

The Cumberland Times-News reports 23-year-old Patrick Levi Kneisley of Cumberland pleaded guilty in Allegany County Circuit Court on Thursday to felony counts of second-degree arson and first-degree malicious burning, as well as second-degree malicious burning and malicious destruction of property.

Kneisley was implicated in an Oct. 1 incident involving a vehicle fire that investigators determined was intentionally set. Since that time, five additional fires have been started in various nearby locations.

Investigators say total damage resulting from the fires is estimated at about $40,000.

Judge W. Timothy Finan says Kneisley will likely be sentenced June 16.

Kneisley remains jailed in the Allegany County Detention Center on $250,000 bond.