NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Niagara Falls Police are still investigating after a number of fires broke out in a Cataract City junkyard earlier this week. The background of one man already arrested in connection with the fires has firefighters on edge.
Intense flames from the series of fires which broke out in junked vehicles at the Myles Scrapyard on Lockport Road kept city firefighters from Niagara Falls and other departments very busy from Monday evening and into the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Firefighters using a spotlight say they found a person identified as 59-year-old Joseph Gaines hiding amidst the burning vehicles.
Police say he was arrested and originally charged with criminal trespassing but then released in the overnight hours on the non-bailable offense.
Firefighters went back to the scrapyard about 4 a.m. for a burning trailer filled with tires and say they found a cell phone nearby
A Niagara County K-9 dog traced the scent back, and Gaines was found at a nearby property.
Police Superintendent John Faso says Gaines was taken into custody, once again, just about an hour after his previous release. He was then was taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for an evaluation.
The Niagara Falls Fire Department is haunted by this case involving Gaines because he was arrested in 1982 for attempted murder when a Niagara Falls firefighter, identified as 51-year-old Charles Palmore, was killed in a fire. Investigators say it was deliberately set at the old Apex supermarket on 56th Street in the Falls.
New York State Corrections Department records show Gaines was released from state prison in 2006. But he had previously appealed his conviction and witnesses then testified he admitted setting the store fire to force the owner out of the neighborhood.
Niagara Falls Fire Chief John Pedula told 2 On Your Side by phone that his department is really "on guard" now with their concerns about Gaines possibly getting out again and his past history.
Police emphasize there is an ongoing arson investigation with two detectives assigned to the case.