A West Reading man was arrested early Saturday on charges related to using fireworks in an unsafe location early Saturday, according to borough police.
Malachi N. Sweigart, 20, of the 700 block of Wayne Avenue, remained free after arraignment on a felony charge of risking a catastrophe and disorderly conduct counts before District Judge Colleen Dugan Schearer in Reading Central Court.
West Reading police gave this account:
Officers were called to the 700 block of Wayne Avenue at about 12:25 a.m. Saturday. It was the third time police were called to the scene due to fireworks, but previously officers did not see who was lighting them.
Police monitored the scene in an attempt to catch someone in the act of lighting fireworks. They said the activity was taking place in a narrow alley with heavy shrubbery and trees, overhead wires and dry conditions that made for a significant fire risk. The aerial pyrotechnics being used exploded over the roofs of nearby homes, putting them at risk of fire.
After officers witnessed Sweigart lighting one of the explosives, they arrested him just after 1 a.m.