Dumpster

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer A 30-year-old Hagerstown man - who told friends he had "nothing better to do" the morning of Jan. 25 than set fire to the House of Kobe - was found guilty of second-degree arson Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court. Kevin Augustus Cotton is facing a maximum 20-year sentence on the arson with three years more possible for a second conviction of destruction of property. Currently on parole for a prior arson conviction, Cotton has 4 1/2 years backup time in that case, according to Assistant Washington County State's Attorney Susan Lochbaum.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer A man accused of arson in the Jan. 25 House of Kobe restaurant fire has been charged with setting nine trash bin fires that kept Hagerstown firefighters busy on Dec. 30, authorities said. Washington County District Court Judge Ralph France on Monday raised the bond on Kevin Augustus Cotton, 30, of 37 N. Mulberry St., from $75,000 to $125,000. Cotton objected vehemently in court on Monday to the second-degree arson charge in the House of Kobe fire.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Waynesboro GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A Hagerstown woman was charged with cruelty to animals last week after a small dog was found in a dumpster in Greencastle in October. Lisa Marie Widmyer, 29, of 17441 Cindy Lane, Hagerstown, is scheduled to be arraigned before District Justice John Ommert on March 24 at 9:30 a.m. The cruelty to animal charge was filed last week after an investigation by Georgia Martin, humane society investigator for the Antietam Humane Society in Waynesboro, Pa. She is charged with a second-degree misdemeanor for "willfully and maliciously torturing a domestic animal," according to allegations in the criminal complaint.