Beavercreek woman sentenced in Highland County arson case

A Beavercreek woman was sentenced to community control recently after pleading no contest to an arson charge in Highland County.

As previously reported, Loretta M. Bukowski, 67, was indicted by a Highland County grand jury in January and charged with two fourth-degree felony counts of arson. According to court records, she pleaded no contest to one of the charges in April, with the other count dismissed. (A plea of no contest “has the same effect as a guilty plea in a criminal case but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose,” according to the Court News Ohio legal glossary.)

The indictment alleged that in June 2024, Bukowski “did, by means of fire or explosion, knowingly cause, or create a substantial risk of, physical harm to” a victim’s property “without [the victim’s] consent and the value of the said property or amount of physical harm was equal to or exceeding $1,000.”

During a sentencing hearing June 4, Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced Bukowski to three years of community control and ordered her to pay $500 in restitution and comply with mental health treatment. Bukowski will also be classified as a registered arson offender.     

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