Two Suspects In Ansonia Nature Center Fire

Ansonia police have applied for two arrest warrants in the Nature Center pavilion arson case. 

Police have two suspects — two males who are each younger than 16. 

The pavilion was burned to the ground on Sept. 3. Police labeled the fire as arson. 

The police department applied for warrants last week, according to Ansonia Police Lt. Andrew Cota. 

“We have some warrants pending at juvenile court,” Cota said Thursday. ​“Prosecutors will review it. If they sign off on it, we’re just waiting for a judge to put a signature on it.”

Police hope to charge the two juveniles with arson and criminal mischief, and possibly other charges for the incident.

Cota said the department received tips and took interviews from witnesses at the scene. It led to the two suspects.

The names of the suspects will not become public, even if they are arrested, because they are younger than 16. 

The fire happened on a Saturday morning, less than a day after a fire at a playground at Anna LoPresti School in Seymour.

Fire officials in Seymour labeled the playground fire ​“non-accidental” but stopped short of saying it was suspicious. 

That fire is still under investigation, but Cota said the two are likely not connected.

“It looks like they’re separate incidents,” Cota said. ​“It looks like they have their own group, and these kids we dealt with were from Ansonia. It’s coincidental, but not connected.”

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org