The Falls Free Press will continue updating this article as information becomes available. The Falls Free Press reported October 13th that a fire at a building connected to Robert “Bob” Young—a candidate for the Ohio State House of Representatives in the 36th District—caught fire in May, and that records were subpoenaed as part of the investigation into the fire, which, according to a police report, was suspected of having been caused by arson. Mr. Young did not respond to reporters as part of research for the article. Christopher J. Meager, a lawyer for Mr. Young, provided an affidavit on behalf of Mr. Young that clarified some details in the article four days after its publication, and we have updated it accordingly. The Falls Free Press will continue updating this article as information becomes available.
A Tallmadge building connected to 36th District Ohio State House Candidate Bob Young caught fire in May, with arson suspected as the cause. According to information provided in an affidavit, Mr. Young is in a Contract for Deed (also known as a “land contract”) for the property. As part of the ongoing investigation, Tallmadge Police have subpoenaed the City of Green for records from a 2014 fire at a building in Green that was owned by Young, the cause of which was undetermined after investigation.
According to the Tallmadge fire report, firefighters in Tallmadge and Akron were alerted to a fire burning at Franklin’s Furniture—a used furniture store located at the 431 West Avenue property in Tallmadge—at 7:49pm on May 9th. The fire was confined to the room of origin by firefighters, who also noted code violations inside the structure, according to the fire report. One Tallmadge firefighter sustained minor injury. The Tallmadge Fire Marshall filed a police report indicating that arson was suspected as the cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing.
According to records, a building owned by Young in the City of Green burned in 2014, and the cause was left undetermined after further investigation. As part of the Tallmadge Police investigation into the suspected arson in May 2020, records from the 2014 fire were subpoenaed from the City of Green.
In his affidavit, Mr. Young says he has fully cooperated with the investigation. Records requests regarding his cooperation were withheld by the Tallmadge Law Department due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. Information about why arson was suspected was also withheld as the investigation continues.
Bob Young did not respond to initial requests for comment, but he provided an affidavit through an attorney four days after its publication. Both the Tallmadge Fire Department and Police Department declined to comment on the grounds that the investigation remains open.
The Falls Free Press will continue updating this article as information becomes available.
