RIDGWAY — Called upon to testify on behalf of the commonwealth in his father’s trial, Anthony Milliard testified that he acted alone in the 2012 arson that caused more than $200,000 in damage to two homes in the Ridgway area and did so without knowing whose home he was lighting on fire.

This was a stark contrast from his earlier testimony in which he stated that his father, Francis Anthony “Tony” Milliard, had ordered him to light Michel Park’s Ridgway Borough home on fire.

As a key commonwealth witness, Anthony Milliard was shackled and escorted into the courtroom of the Elk County Court of Common Pleas by members of the Elk County Sherriff’s Department; deputies stood between the two Milliards as Anthony entered and exited the courtroom.

Anthony Milliard is currently incarcerated in the State Correctional Institute at Benner on several charges, including a previous guilty plea in the arson incident that his father is now on trial for.

Under direct examination by Elk County District Attorney Shawn T. McMahon, Anthony Milliard testified that his previous statements to law enforcement officials were coerced and that he did not conspire with his father to burn down a specific house.

Anthony Milliard testified that on May 30, 2012, he and his father left Francis Milliard’s Long Level Road residence in Francis’s blue Dodge Caravan and proceeded to Ridgway.

He continued to testify that he dropped his father off at a friend’s house in downtown Ridgway before proceeding alone to a supermarket in the west end of Ridgway.

After arriving at the supermarket, Anthony Milliard started walking randomly along the nearby streets before walking between two homes and using gasoline to set one of the homes on fire, according to his testimony.

The home, which was located at 521 W. Main St., was Pauline Smith’s home for 25 years.

McMahon played the 911 call that Smith had placed after realizing that her back porch was on fire.

Smith pleaded for help while repeatedly saying that she could not breath and was having trouble moving off the front porch of the home.

According to Smith’s daughter, Nina Cowan, the home was left in “horrific” condition after the fire, including the bedroom that Smith had been sleeping in prior to noticing the fire; the bedroom was completely burned during the fire.

Smith was transported to the hospital for treatment while her home was destroyed. The damage to Smith’s home was estimated at $103,440.65.

The neighboring home, owned by Carl Park, sustained $2,547.39 in damage, but the commonwealth maintains that this home was the real target for the arson.

The commonwealth maintains that Francis Milliard was upset with Michel Park and ordered Anthony Milliard to set fire to her 519 W. Main St. home in Ridgway Borough.

McMahon argues that Anthony Milliard accidently set the wrong home on fire while attempting to follow through on orders to light Park’s home on fire.

On Wednesday, Anthony Milliard disagreed with that statement.

“I didn’t know there was a right house,” he said.

McMahon then showed Anthony Milliard previous written statements, previous testimony and previous convictions to support his argument that Francis Milliard did order Anthony to set fire to Park’s home.

On July 9, 2012, Greg Agosti, then a trooper with the Ridgway-based state police, received a tip from Anthony Milliard’s girlfriend, Kelsey Stahli, that Anthony was involved in the fire along West Main Street.

On July 10, 2012, Anthony Milliard was arrested on unrelated charges, and Agosti took an opportunity to interview Anthony regarding the fire.

Anthony Milliard, Agosti, and officer Bridgette Asti of Ridgway Borough Police, went to the St. Marys City Police Department to conduct an interview that would be recorded with audio and visual recording equipment.

As a result of this interview, Anthony Milliard prepared a written statement accusing his father of ordering him to light Park’s home on fire.

According to Anthony Milliard’s written statement, his father woke him up around 3 a.m. May 30, 2012 so the pair could drive to Ridgway and so that Anthony could light the home on fire.

In this written statement, Anthony Milliard said the pair left the scene and traveled along Grant Road before returning to Francis Milliard’s Long Level Road residence.

While traveling along Grant Road, Anthony Milliard threw the glass container that was used to transport gasoline to the home out of the window, according to his written statement.

Agosti later testified that Anthony Milliard showed law enforcement officials the general location of where he had thrown the container out; law enforcement officials later recovered the container along Grant Road.

Under cross examination by Joseph Ryan Drew, who is representing Francis Milliard, Anthony Milliard testified that he was under the influence of opiates on July 10 and was going through withdrawal for approximately three weeks after.

Anthony Milliard further testified that he was led through the writing of his July 10 written statement by law enforcement officials as he was scared to go to jail.

Not convinced of Anthony Milliard’s new story, McMahon further pointed out that Anthony had testified at the preliminary hearing for Francis Milliard in August 2012 and again accused his father of having a role in the arson.

Finally, McMahon pointed out that Anthony Milliard pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, which was backed by an admission that Anthony committed the act in conjunction with Francis Milliard.

Anthony Milliard testified that he was going through the motions on that day and accepted the plea offer that was offered to him.

Ryan showed that McMahon’s plea offer contained wording that said that Anthony Milliard would be expected to testify on behalf of the commonwealth in the trial against Francis Milliard.

He further showed that Anthony Milliard made no statements to police prior to being arrested on July 10, 2012.

In addition to Anthony Milliard, Cowan and Agosti, four other witnesses took the stand on behalf of the commonwealth.

Krisha Buehler testified to being Francis Milliard’s girlfriend around the time of the fire and testified to being on a camping trip with Park on the night of the fire.

Ryan had no cross examination for Buehler but requested that she remain subpoenaed for the remainder of the trial.

Carl Park testified as to the damage done to his property in the fire.

Michel Park testified as to being on a camping trip with Buehler on the night of the fire; again, Ryan had no cross examination for Michel Park, however he also requested that she remain subpoenaed for the remainder of the trial.

Scott Lovell testified that he heard Francis and Anthony Milliard joking about the fire several days after it had occurred.

He testified that Francis Milliard received a phone call and became angry before saying that Anthony Milliard was a “junkie piece of crap” that burnt the wrong house.

Under cross examination by Ryan, Lovell testified that he did not inform police about this information until he was arrested on unrelated charges.

McMahon could call as many as 13 other witnesses during the remainder of the trial, while it is still unknown what witnesses may be called by the defense.

The trail continues today and is expected to conclude on Friday.

Francis Milliard is currently facing 28 charge relating to the incident. Erie County Senior Judge John Bozza is presiding over Francis Milliard’s trial.