ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — A Chillicothe man is in jail today after police say he set a structure on fire and refused to come out.
The Ross County Sheriff’s Office and firefighters from Scioto Township responded to Trego Creek Road near route 23 for a structure fire.
The call came in shortly before noon on Friday.
Deputies responded to the scene and found smoke coming from the old Massieville Dairy Bar. According to reports, Donnie Cochenour Jr., 33, of Chillicothe, was inside the burning structure screaming at law enforcement.
Firefighters from Scioto Township arrived shortly after deputies and put out the blaze.
Reports say a belligerent Cochenour was arrested and transported to the Ross County Jail on arson-related charges. Officials say Cochenour needed to be restrained upon arrival at the jail.
Investigators have not released any information about the cause of the blaze or why Cochenour refused to come out of the burning building. The incident remains under investigation.
Some may remember the “Dairy Bar” as the scene of the 2015 murder of 38-year-old Timberyl Claytor.
Cochenour himself has a lengthy criminal history. In 2015, Donnie Cochenour Jr. was charged after 31-year-old Rebecca Cade was found dead, hanging from a fence near the AEP facility in Chillicothe. He was found not guilty in connection with her death in 2017.