An Altoona man was covicted Wednesday in Blair County Court, of burning down a house… his former home, on West Chestnut Avenue. 39 year old Jerrett Aungst was convicted of a laundry list of charges yesterday, including arson, risking a catastrophe, burglary, recklessly endangering others and unauthorized use of an automobile. The former PennDOT employee claimed that he was upset over the breakup of his marriage, and he also said that he had sought consolation in the use of methamphetamine after that break-up. That drug abuse according to his attorney, led to delusions and paranoia. Police learned that Aungst had entered a PennDOT shed where he stole a torch, then drove a PennDOT truck and car the night of the fire, so he was also charged with burglary of the shed, and theft, associated with his driving the PennDOT vehicles. Now, sentencing is set for July 15. The minimum sentence Aungst could receive is three years behind bars.
