The Pennsylvania State Police announced on Wednesday afternoon that Douglas S. Dalessio, 51, and his son, Dylan C. Dalessio, 19, both of Plumville, PA, were each charged by State Police Troop A and Troop C Fire Marshal Units with one count of Intimidation of Witnesses or Victims, graded as a Felony 1, and one count of Criminal Use of a Communication Facility, graded as a Felony 3, following investigation into recorded phone conversations that occurred at Indiana County Jail in October, 2019.
The charges were filed before Magisterial District Judge Christopher S. Welch, who issued warrants for their arrest.
Earlier on Wednesday, the defendants were arrested without incident and were arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Susanne V. Steffee. Douglas S. Dalessio was jailed at the Indiana County Jail in lieu of $100,000.00 monetary bail, and Dylan C. Dalessio was also jailed at the Indiana County Jail in lieu of $200,000.00 monetary bail.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation as part of the ongoing joint Pennsylvania State Police-ATF probe into a series suspicious fires that occurred in the northern Indiana County area from August, 2018 through September, 2019.
Investigators are also seeking information on suspicious fires reported to have occurred in northern Indiana County since 2015. The investigation into these suspicious fires is ongoing and additional information will be released as appropriate.
Anyone with information should call the ATF 24/7 hotline at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-4-PA-TIPS, or email ATFTips@atf.gov / submit tips via online www.pacrimestoppers.org. Tips can be submitted anonymously using the Reportit® app, or by visiting www.reportit.com, using the Philadelphia Field Division as the location.
