Five teens have been arrested in connection with the arson fire Tuesday that destroyed Green’s historic one-room Lichtenwalter Schoolhouse.
The Summit County Sheriff’s office announced the arrests Thursday morning and said investigators also tied the suspects to a break-in at Ariss Park in Green.
Brandyn McCroskey, 18, of Springfield Township, and Matthew R. Swan, 19, also of Springfield Township, were charged in the case. A girl and a boy from Springfield Township, both 16, also were arrested, as was a 16-year-old boy from Akron. (The names of the juveniles were not released.)
The two adults were booked and taken to Summit County Jail, while the juveniles were take to the county juvenile detention center.
All five are charged with breaking and entering, vandalism and arson, according to the sheriff’s department.
The arrests followed a search of a home Wednesday on Mayfair Circle in Springfield Township, the sheriff’s department said. Investigators said they found items inside the home that were taken from a concession stand at Ariss Park.
The historic Lichtenwalter Schoolhouse in Boettler Park, which dates back to 1885, was destroyed in an early morning fire Tuesday. Firefighters were called to the scene before 5 a.m. and were unable to save the schoolhouse. The school was restored in 2001.
Since 2004, the schoolhouse has hosted Green third-graders on field trips to simulate what class was like in 1885.