A New York man accused of setting a 2021 fire at the Kensington Club Apartments in Lancaster Township will have his criminal case decided in Lancaster County Court.
Husani A. Laviscount, 38, of Queens, was held for trial on one count each of arson, burglary, risking catastrophe and criminal mischief and eight counts of reckless endangerment following a preliminary hearing Tuesday before District Judge Mary Mongiovi Sponaugle.
According to Manheim Township police, which at the time of the fire provided coverage to Lancaster Township, Laviscount broke into an apartment unit at 641 Wyncroft Lane on April 25, 2021, and intentionally set it on fire. Lancaster Township now has its own police department.
The fire spread to five other apartments; eight people were inside their apartments when the fire started, according to police.
In a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must present sufficient evidence that a crime was committed, and that the person charged probably is responsible and, therefore, that a jury or judge should hear the case at the county court level.
Though Laviscount was charged shortly after the fire, he was not arrested and brought back to Lancaster County until Dec. 5, 2025.
Laviscount is being held at Lancaster County Prison without bail after Mongiovi Sponaugle determined he was a flight risk.
A phone message was left Wednesday for Laviscount’s attorney, Michael Jay Diamondstein, of Philadelphia, who was not in the office.
Laviscount is scheduled to be formally arraigned on Feb. 13.
Apartment complex site of several fires
The Kensington Club Apartments complex has been the site of multiple fires going back several years.
A Dec. 28, 2025, fire caused by a discarded cigarette damaged a wooden porch at the complex, which was the site of a fatal fire in August 2024 that destroyed an apartment building and caused the death of resident Charles Knicely, 59.Â
Two fires were reported at the complex in 2021, including the blaze Laviscount is accused of setting. The other started as a brush fire that spread to the roof of an apartment building. Â
A kitchen fire in 2020 that destroyed one unit and damaged another was preceded by a 2019 blaze at one of the buildings in the complex. A heater fire in 2018 damaged an apartment unit. That same year, a roof fire destroyed an eight-unit apartment building at the complex. An apartment unit was damaged in a 2017 kitchen fire.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.