A man accused of stealing and burning a car last month is due in district court today for a preliminary hearing.
The hearing for 47-year-old Matthew Lee Smith of Indiana will be held this morning in front of district judge Susanne Steffee. He faces felony counts of reckless burning or exploding a car and receiving stolen property along with summary disorderly conduct for the incident on September 15th. State police say he and 27-year-old Austin Milanos stole a vehicle from Indiana Borough and drove it out to a pulloff near a railroad crossing south of Route 110. The two allegedly soaked the vehicle with gasoline and set it on fire. Smith was injured in the explosion and was taken into custody after he was treated at Indiana Regional Medical Center.
Milanos’ court record in this case is listed as “inactive.”
