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VP Joe Biden says he will not run for president in 2016

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Third Eye Blind to headline Fuzz 92.1’s Nutcracker Ball at Wilkes-Barre’s F.M. Kirby Center Sunday, Dec. 20; event to also feature The Wombats and Grizfolk

WEST PITTSTON &#8212; A man who threatened to burn a house down is heading to higher court to face a single felony charge.Jesse Ide, 34, of Exeter, appeared before District Judge Joseph Carmody for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Ide originally faced other charges, including arson, criminal mischief, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and two counts of recklessly burning or exploding.Carmody waived a single charge of criminal mischief to higher court. The remaining charges were withdrawn.Court documents indicate a formal arraignment has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 15 in the Luzerne County Courthouse.Ide&#8217;s attorney from the Luzerne County Public Defender&#8217;s Office declined to comment.According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were sent to 127 Birchwood Estates on June 30 for a report of a man threatening to burn his house down.Police arrived to find Ide allegedly smashing things with a baseball bat and continuously threatening to burn down the house. Police also noticed the smell of kerosene while they were standing on the porch. When police approached Ide, he was allegedly talking to himself and told police officers he was an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent working on a case.As he was being handcuffed, Ide continued to tell officers he was a DEA agent, that his badge was in his pocket and that &#8220;he had to burn the house down so that everyone that have been watching him from underground would die.&#8221;Ide also allegedly told police that Jesse Ide was killed in a car crash 20 years ago and he had assumed his identity as part of his cover.Police returned to the house after Ide was placed into a police vehicle, where they found he had allegedly poured kerosene from a blue plastic container on top of the counter. Another container was found in the cabinet area underneath the sink. No fires were started inside the residence, but a State Police Fire Marshal was called to the scene to investigate.Ide was transported to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Crisis Unit for a mental health evaluation, and police later filed to have him committed.Police later learned from Ide&#8217;s ex-girlfriend, who owns the trailer de was living in, she recently moved out to get away from him.Police later obtained a can found underneath the sink and submitted it to the Pennsylvania State Police Wyoming Regional Crime Lab for further analysis.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Travis Kellartkellar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</shirttailMeta></div>

Exeter man who threatened to set fire to his residence heading to county court