A Kalona man faces up to 25 years in prison after being accused of tossing a lit firecracker down a crowded corridor last month at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville.
Coralville police arrested Travis Edwin Grout, 19, for first-degree arson Sunday. He also was arrested on unrelated charges of public intoxication and interference with official acts.
Grout was being held in the Johnson County Jail on Monday in lieu of $20,000 cash-only bond.
According to police reports, a witness on April 16 saw Grout light a three-inch-long firecracker inside the Coralville shopping center and throw it down a hallway toward a restroom.
As it exploded, the firecracker propelled two pieces of cement through the hall. Grout then left the mall with four friends.
Police said Grout threw the firecracker in a main hallway near Scheels All Sports in the presence of "countless" people. Police Chief Barry Bedford said no one was injured.
Coralville police arrested Travis Edwin Grout, 19, for first-degree arson Sunday. He also was arrested on unrelated charges of public intoxication and interference with official acts.
Grout was being held in the Johnson County Jail on Monday in lieu of $20,000 cash-only bond.
According to police reports, a witness on April 16 saw Grout light a three-inch-long firecracker inside the Coralville shopping center and throw it down a hallway toward a restroom.
As it exploded, the firecracker propelled two pieces of cement through the hall. Grout then left the mall with four friends.
Police said Grout threw the firecracker in a main hallway near Scheels All Sports in the presence of "countless" people. Police Chief Barry Bedford said no one was injured.