A Pennsylvania man is accused of intentionally setting fire to the auto repair shop he used to work for as well as a shed owned by a man that he owed thousands of dollars in restitution to for a previous arson.
Sean Gahagan, 56, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with arson, risking catastrophe, burglary, theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief and possessing an instrument of crime.
On Dec. 29, 2023, at 8:30 p.m., police and firefighters responded to a fire at a detached shed in the backyard of a home along the 2300 block of Huntingdon Pike in Huntingdon Valley, a village in Lower Moreland. A Lower Moreland Police officer used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
The officer noticed a broken pane of glass in a window of the shed, according to the criminal complaint.
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Investigators also noticed a can of “Gum Cutter” – a highly flammable product used to clean automotive engine parts – as well as a can of fire-starting fluid.
A short time later that night, at 8:49 p.m., an Upper Moreland Police officer responded to a reported fire at JG Transmissions, an auto repair shop on the 600 block of Davisville Road in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
When the officer arrived, he saw the building engulfed in flames with smoke rising from the roof. Responding firefighters were able to place the fire under control but the shop was completely destroyed.
Investigators later determined both fires were intentionally set and that the “Gum Cutter” that was found inside the shed is a product used by JG Transmissions.
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Investigators also determined that Gahagan, a former employee of JG Transmissions, had visited the shop at 10 a.m. on the day of the fire and asked for work but was told none was available, according to the criminal complaint.
At the time of the visit, Gahagan was wearing a hooded camouflage jacket and driving a red Chevrolet Cobalt, investigators said.
Investigators later obtained surveillance video showing a Cobalt type vehicle parking at a business near JG Transmissions on the night of the fire. The video then showed a man running from the car toward JG Transmissions and then running back to the car about six minutes before the fire was reported to 911, according to investigators.
Investigators also said the man was wearing the same camouflage jacket that Gahagan was wearing that morning.
Surveillance video from the shed fire in Lower Moreland also captured the same vehicle just before the fire was discovered, investigators said. License plate readers nearby also captured the vehicle’s license plate which was matched to Gahagan’s vehicle, investigators said.
On Jan. 1, Lebanon City Police arrested Gahagan for allegedly trespassing inside a church on 118 N. 14th Street in Lebanon. He was wearing the same camouflage jacket he had on during the day and night of the fires, investigators said.
During an interview with police on Jan. 5, Gahagan allegedly admitted to starting both fires. Gahagan told investigators he broke the window of the shed in Lower Moreland and sprayed an accelerant into it, according to the criminal complaint. He then allegedly used a torch style lighter to ignite the accelerant.
Gahagan then went to JG Transmissions in Willow Grove and threw a large cinder block through the window of the building, according to the criminal complaint. Gahagan entered the business and stole money from the cash box but was angry that there was only change inside the box, investigators said.
Gahagan then went into the shop area, grabbed a can of brake cleaner and sprayed it on both desks in the office before using a torch style lighter to ignite it, according to the criminal complaint.
Gahagan told investigators he set fire to the shed in Lower Moreland because he “felt cheated” about being ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution to the owner of the property, according to the criminal complaint. The restitution was due to Gahagan being arrested for a previous arson at the same location in the past, investigators said.
Police later found the torch lighter Gahagan used in both fires inside his vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
Gahagan was arraigned on Jan. 19 with bail set at $500,000 cash. He was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29.
Online court records don’t list any legal representation for Gahagan.
