Former Northeast Indiana Firefighter Convicted of Arson

Jurors have convicted a former northeastern Indiana volunteer firefighter of starting a blaze in his neighbor’s cabin and then showing up on a fire truck.

The DeKalb County jury reached the guilty verdict Thursday against Lee Yoder of Spencerville on a felony count of arson.

The Star of Auburn reports prosecutors presented evidence of Yoder admitting that he set other fires and that he called the Spencerville fire chief about the 2010 cabin fire rather than calling 911.

Yoder didn’t testify during the trial, but defense attorney Michael Douglass argued that Yoder’s admissions about other fires didn’t prove he started the cabin fire in the rural area about 15 miles north of Fort Wayne.

Yoder faces a possible sentence of six years to 20 years in prison.