A Lehighton man has been charged with arson on the home of a man charged with running over a West Penn Township business owner.

Detectives Vince Uher and Melissa Forsette of the Scranton Police Department filed charges Monday against Barton Macconnell.

Court documents said at 3:32 a.m. Aug. 3 Scranton Police and fire departments were dispatched to the 400 block of Brook Street for a report of heavy smoke in the area.

Heavy smoke and flames were coming from a single family one-story residential structure.

No victims were located inside the structure and firefighters focused their efforts on extinguishing the fire.

Later that day, a woman arrived at headquarters and wanted to inquire about the fire that happened to her and her father’s house earlier that day. She said the day before her father, Michael Albert, 60, of Scranton, who lives at the address, asked her to go pick up his truck that was being worked on in West Penn Township.

They arrived at the garage and an argument ensued over payment of the work with the owner of the garage, Mark Boyle.

The argument escalated to the point that Albert got in his truck and is charged with running over Boyle, who died as a result.

Albert’s daughter indicated that because of what happened, she and her 10-month-old child stayed with the child’s father, otherwise they would have been home when the fire happened.

After speaking with West Penn Township police Chief James Bonner who was on scene, a crowd had gathered and began to turn violent toward Albert, banging on the police vehicle windows to get to him.

After they got Albert out of there, Bonner indicated that one of Albert’s employees known as “Bart” pointed at Albert’s truck and stated that somebody better the truck out of there or he was going to burn it down. Later that night Albert’s truck was on fire.

Bonner was able to provide detectives with photographs of Macconnell’s vehicle, a white “Dually” 1988 Ford pickup truck with severe rust on the driver side and damage to the rear corner panel. Comparing the pictures provided by Bonner with the pictures of the vehicle driving by the house before it was set on fire, the two are the same.

Additional video was obtained from cameras about two blocks from the fire scene, and the white pickup is seen driving north on Cedar toward Albert’s home at 3:02 a.m., and then at 3:24 a.m. driving south away from Albert’s house.

The fire was reported at 3:32 a.m., about eight minutes after Macconnell’s truck is seen driving away from the area.

The employee of Boyle’s garage, “Bart,” was identified as Macconnell, 39.

An acquaintance of Macconnell was interviewed and asked if Macconnell ever mentioned anything about the fire in Scranton and he stated that once he went to the garage where Macconnell worked, after the fire and was asking everyone there is anyone knew anything about it, Macconnell said something to the effect, “Maybe I did do it.”

On Oct. 19, detectives received the “Trace Evidence” report back from PSP Crime Lab on the samples collected by BCI and fire inspectors from the scene of the fire. The lab said gasoline was identified on two of the eight samples collected.

Macconnell faces charges of arson - danger of death or bodily injury; arson endangering property - reckless endangerment of inhabited buildings; recklessly endangering another person; and criminal mischief.

Macconnell is awaiting arraignment.

Boyle, 35, who owned Mark T. Boyle Welding & Industrial Sandblasting, 725 Penn Drive, died from his injuries hours after being struck by a dump truck on Aug. 2.

Albert was charged with third degree murder, aggravated assault, homicide by vehicle, theft of services, and recklessly endangering another person. He is awaiting trial in the case.