SHENANDOAH Prosecutors added attempted murder charges to a host of other offenses already filed against a Mahanoy City man stemming from a December assault and arson in Mahanoy City.

During a preliminary hearing that lasted about an hour, all charges against Joseph C. Yeich, 28, of 1229 E. Mahanoy Ave., were held for Schuylkill County Court.Yeich was charged by Mahanoy City police Patrolman Christopher Zubris with two felony counts each of aggravated assault and criminal mischief, one felony count each of arson and related offenses and causing or risking a catastrophe, two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and five misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.Prior to Thursday's hearing before Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker, prosecutors added two additional felony charges criminal attempt to commit first degree murder and criminal attempt to commit third degree murder.Zubris charged Yeich with severely beating Elrena L. Gibson inside her home at 1031 E. Pine St., where he had been staying, and then setting a fire in the basement that damaged that building and others attached to it Dec. 11.Following the assault, Gibson was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest where she was admitted for head and facial injuries she suffered. The woman, who also had chemical bleach thrown on her by Yeich, is now recovering.Gibson, who would not look at Yeich during the proceedings, said the two went to the basement of the home after Yeich asked her for bleach for something he was working on.In a small laundry room, the woman said she handed Yeich the bleach but he said it was the wrong one and began the assault."He said he had to beat me," she told the court, explaining he called her a liar.At that point, Gibson said the assault continued with Yeich hitting her in the face and head, and eventually causing her to strike her head off a furnace.Yeich then got the bleach and hit her in the face with the bottle and eventually poured the chemical on her, Gibson said.At that point, Gibson said she was on the ground and although she could not specifically see the fire being lit due to her facial injuries, she knew it was lit, saying she heard and smelled the fire.After staying on the ground for a brief time to make sure Yeich was gone, Gibson told the court she finally "squeezed out" of a back cellar door to safety.She testified about suffering head and facial injuries and broken ribs from which she is still recuperating.Zubris testified that after arriving at the scene, he found Gibson sitting on the sidewalk with massive head trauma and bleeding profusely from both her head and face.At the scene, Zubris said there was heavy smoke coming from the basement of the home and that during a brief talk with Gibson, the woman told him "Joe Yeich did this" and then went unconscious.Zubris said three witnesses pulled him to the side and said that Gibson told them Yeich tried to kill her and set the house on fire.Yeich was located a short time later inside a home at 1038 E. Market St. and taken into custody without incident, Zubris testified, adding that the man said to him, "the devil made me do it."State police fire marshal Trooper John F. Burns said he determined the fire was intentionally set in the area of the laundry room by using combustible materials that were on-hand, including clothing and cardboard.Burns said he found no signs of an accelerant or any device that could have started the fire. The trooper said his determination was made after examining the entire area and ruling out any other possible causes ranging from electrical to the furnace in the basement.The fire marshal ruled the fire arson and told the court he estimated damage at $40,000.Distributed by MCT Information Services