Arson Sentencing, Stolen Dog & Dangerous Falls Man: Week's Most Read Crime Stories

Check out the three most popular crime stories on the site this week.

Crime is one of the most-read sections on Stow Patch each day. We rounded up the three most popular crime stories this week, in case you missed them. 1. A Stow man was sentenced to 28 years in prison for setting his house on fire and claiming the insurance money. See what else he set on fire here. 2. A Friar Road man's dog was stolen from his yard and has not been found. Read a description of the dog here. Let's help bring Barkley home! 3. A Cuyahoga Falls man is wanted by the Portage County Sheriff's Department, who says he could be armed and dangerous. Have you seen this man?    

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Man Sentenced to 28 Years for Setting House on Fire, Claiming Insurance Money

Scott Purk is charged with setting his home on fire in 2009 plus setting a duplex ablaze in 2010.

A Stow man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison after using an accelerant to burn down his house and claim insurance money. Scott Purk, 50, recieved the maximum sentence in Judge Tammy O'Brien's court Thursday. Purk and his wife Tammy set fire to their home at 2128 Uniondale Dr. in 2009 and it was a total loss, said police Chief Louis Dirker. The insurance company paid out about $150,000 in claims, according to police. "It was a long investigation," Dirker said. "But Det. Ken Mifflin has been relentless in his accumulation and categorizing of evidence in these cases."  The fire department determined an accelerant was used in the 2009 fire. Scott was also involved in a separate incident in March 2010. Police said he set fire to a duplex…

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Teen Seen Lighting Fire at Skate Park

The following information was supplied by the Stow Police Department.

On Nov. 14, Stow Police got a call from someone who said they saw a teen lighting something on fire at the skate park in Oregon Trail Park around 1:30 p.m. Police said paper towels from the public bathroom were on fire inside the restroom on the floor and in the trash container. The fire was easily extinguished.  Police cited the 17-year-old Stow teen with arson, a first-degree misdemeanor, in this situation.

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Mailbox Goes Up in Flames in Apparent Arson

The following information was supplied by the Stow Police Department.

The Stow Police and Fire Departments responded to a house at the 4500 block of Edgewater Road after a 47-year-old woman said her mailbox was up in flames.  When officers arrived, the woman's husband said he saw someone running from the scene. Firefighters said the mailbox was engulfed in flames. When the fire was extinguished, firefighters said they found a gasoline-soaked tshirt inside.  Arson, in this situation, is a first-degree misdemeanor.

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See How Falls Compares with Stow in Safety

Cleveland Magazine released its annual "Rating the Suburbs" issue recently. See how Falls compares to Stow in the crime category.

Cuyahoga Falls received a slightly better rating than Stow by Cleveland Magazine as far as crime goes — but neither ranked highly for safety out of 77 cities considered in the report. The magazine recently released its "Rating the Suburbs" issue. Here's a run down of Stow's numbers: (Stow was ranked 65 out of 77 in safety, according to the magazine.) *Links attached to the above are examples of each category listed.  Stow's population last year was about 34,800. Cleveland Magazine reports there are about 5.60 violent crimes per 1,000 people and 19.4 non-violent crimes per every 1,000 people.  There were 38 full-time, no part-time and 24 auxiliary officers with the Stow Police Department when this information was considered. Read more about…

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School Dumpster Fire, 2 Burglaries: Police Blotter

The following information was supplied by the Stow Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Burglar grabs $6,300 in jewelry: Xbox and game stolen by burglar: Arson fire set in school dumpster

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Punch Thrown, Arson: Crime at Schools

The following information was supplied by the Stow Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Punch Thrown, Glasses Broken There's no use fighting over spilled water ... but that's what happened at Stow-Munroe Falls High School Oct. 11. During a lunch period, a student punched a hole in the lid of a water bottle and squirted some students at another table, according to the report. A student who was squirted picked up the water bottle and threw it at the other student. Then the teen who squirted the water punched the student who threw the bottle in the eye, breaking his glasses, said Stow Police.  Assault is a first-degree misdemeanor. The case is being handled by Stow Youth Services.  Fire at Echo Hills Stow Police and Fire responded to a call Oct. 9 of a fire outside of Echo Hills Elementary School. The fire was set in a plastic …

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Police: Arrests Made in Arson, Trailer Stolen, Liquid Steroids Found

The following information was supplied by the Stow Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

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Police Blotter: Possible Bottle Bombs Found in Stow Mailbox

Police blotter for Feb. 4-6.

A newspaper delivery person reported to Stow Police Feb. 5 that a two-liter bottle that had liquid inside was bubbling in a mailbox at the 1300 block of Hibbard Drive. The newspaper delivery man said there were two other small bottles on the road by the mailbox and three small foil balls were  inside the mailbox. A police officer pushed the bottles onto the road and removed the contents without incident, according to the report. Arson, in this situation, is a first-degree misdemeanor. In other police news:

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