State Police have arrested a man they say has admitted to setting one of a string of fires that have plagued Mocanaqua and Shickshinny in recent weeks.
Shawn Travis Wilcox, 36, of 38 Main St., Mocanaqua, told troopers he likes setting fires and watching flames, according to court papers. He also allegedly said he fights the urge to start fires every day.
State troopers say he broke into the vacant, flood-damaged apartment building at 4 Main St. in Mocanaqua on Nov. 12.
Once inside, Wilcox set fire to a bag stored inside, then left, police say.
After other neighbors discovered the blaze, Wilcox called 9-1-1, they said.
He also allegedly admitted to stealing a tricycle from the building's basement.
Wilcox is now in Luzerene County Prison after failing to post $125,000 bail.
There's no word yet on whether Wilcox is connected to the four other arsons that have struck the area, including one that destroyed the house next door to the building he admitted igniting.
On Oct. 6, a house at 3 Main St. was destroyed in a blaze that was ruled as arson. Then on Nov. 19, an apartment building at 15-17 Railroad Street caught fire.
All three buildings had been damaged in the 2011 flood from Tropical Storm Lee and were vacant.
Meanwhile, just across the bridge from Mocanaqua, in Shickshinny, a car and a house were lit on fire Nov. 13.
