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Man sets home on fire while family inside
Plea deal allows Grove to avoid jail
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A man will be allowed to attend mental health court after he tried to torch his family’s home on Myers Cove Road with people inside.The suspect, Damon D. Grove, 22, entered a guilty plea to charges of reckless endangerment and vandalism for the incident that happened while his grandmother was having a seizure and was waiting for an ambulance to arrive. His furlough to mental health court and the adult recovery program means he will get a second chance at avoiding jail, provided he stays in the program and does not violate the rules of the intensive rehabilitation program. Should he fail, his sentences for the incident and his violation of probation will combine for two years behind bars.According to Lt. Mike Vann of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, Grove became angry during an argument with another man at the Myers Cove Road home where he lived.“He said if the other man didn’t leave, he was going to burn the house down,” Vann recalled, noting that during this time an ambulance was on its way to the house because Grove’s grandmother was having a seizure.When the man did not obey Grove’s command, the suspect went outside and returned to make good on his threat.“He returned a short time later with a can of gas and was pouring it throughout the home,” Vann said.