Two indicted in ROTC van arson

ROTC+vans

ROTC vans

Jimmy Miller

A Portage county grand jury indicted two suspects in last February’s ROTC van arson, the Kent State Police Department announced Friday.

Emilio O. Vidal, 23, from Broadview Heights, and Evan M.K. Ecklund, 20, from Lakewood, were both indicted Friday.

The Record-Courier reported a third suspect has been indicted but isn’t in custody. Vidal and Ecklund have been charged with two counts of arson, a fourth-degree felony, and a count of vandalism, a fifth-degree offense.

The suspects are in the Portage County jail and are pleading not guilty to the offenses. The Stater previously reported the Blue Ribbon Arson Committee offered a $5,000 reward for information about the arson and the case remains under investigation. 

Jimmy Miller is a senior editor for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].