CLEARFIELD – A man charged with setting fire to the Mount Carmel Non-Denominational Church in Bell Township nearly three years ago to the day waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday at Clearfield County Jail.
Codey D. Schlemmer, 21, of Punxsutawney is charged with arson, burglary and ethnic intimidation after he allegedly set fire to the church.
Court documents in the case state that two other men alleged to have been involved in the incident told police that Schlemmer planned to “burn a church down.”
Schlemmer is alleged to have set several fires inside the church Sept. 18, 2004, and then returned on two occassions to ensure that the fire was burning.
Police also reported that a “Nazi-style” ring found at the church in August 2004, and one of the men involved identified it as being Schlemmer’s.
Schlemmer is free after posting $50,000 bail.
His case will now be added to the trial list.