RIDGWAY — The final witness to testify in the arson trial for Francis Anthony “Tony” Milliard, 58, was able to place Milliard in the vicinity of 521 W. Main St. on the night that Anthony Milliard, Francis’s son, set fire to a home belonging to Pauline Smith, causing more than $100,000 in damage.

Thomas Prechtel Jr., who lives on Oak Street in Ridgway, testified that he saw Milliard in a minivan that was parked at the supermarket in West End.

Earlier in the trial, Anthony Milliard testified that he drove to the supermarket alone in his father’s minivan and set fire to a random house.

Anthony Milliard previously pleaded guilty in this incident.

Elk County District Attorney Shawn T. McMahon maintains that Anthony Milliard did not act alone but was instructed to burn down a house located at 521 W. Main St. by his father.

Prior to Wednesday, Anthony Milliard told police that Francis Milliard ordered him to light Michel Park’s home on fire but that he accidently set the home of Park’s neighbor on fire.

Along with Corporal Greg Agosti of the Pennsylvania State Police, McMahon read through previous testimony that Anthony Milliard gave.

His story changed as he took the witness stand on Wednesday; he testified that these statements to police were false and were the result of police coercion, drug use and withdrawal symptoms.

Prechtel’s testimony given Thursday seemed to match Anthony Milliard’s original statements that Francis Milliard ordered Anthony to light Park’s home on fire.

On May 30, 2012, the night of the fire that destroyed Smith’s home, Prechtel had trouble sleeping, according to his testimony.

He testified that he went into his living room and looked out of his window to see a blue minivan parked at the supermarket.

Prechtel added that he saw a younger man get out of the passenger side of the vehicle and proceed to run along West Main Street.

In the driver’s seat, he saw someone with masculine facial features but some feminine features, such as longer hair, according to his testimony.

Prechtel testified that the van remained parked in front of the store for approximately five minutes before the younger male returned and the van left the area by driving west on West Main Street.

Being deaf, Prechtel could not hear the fire sirens to inform him that a fire had started at a nearby home; he learned about the fire the following day when he woke up.

He testified that he attempted to speak to an investigator from State Farm Insurance the next day but was unable to do so because of his hearing impairment.

In June 2012, Prechtel was able to talk to the investigator with the assistance of a video relay system, which Prechtel can use to communicate visually with an interpreter who then communicates verbally with a third party.

During this conversation, Prechtel advised the investigator that the person in the driver’s seat was a woman.

During cross examination by Joseph Drew Ryan, Francis Milliard’s defense attorney, Prechtel stated that he did not explain about the male facial features in this video conversation with the State Farm investigator or in a subsequent conversation with law enforcement officials, which used the same video relay technology.

Prechtel explained the video relay system that was used can cause issues with the clarity of his messages.

Prechtel testified that he first discussed the male features in March in a meeting with McMahon, which was the first interview that Prechtel gave to law enforcement officials in person.

In a more recent interview with law enforcement officials, Prechtel was shown a photograph of Francis Milliard.

Prechtel testified that he was completely sure the man in the picture, Milliard, was the driver of the blue van that was parked by the supermarket on May 30, 2012.

On Thursday, Prechtel was again shown the photograph of Milliard, which was taken in 2012 after Milliard had been arrested, and was again confident the man in the photograph was the one in the van.

Under cross examination, Prechtel admitted he was shown two pictures of Milliard and was not shown pictures of any other individual prior to making the identification of Milliard as the driver.

Ryan also pointed out that Prechtel initially said there were three individuals in the van.

Prechtel testified that he originally believed that three people were in the van but added that he saw a driver and a man that exited the passenger side of the vehicle.

Prechtel delivered his testimony on Thursday with the help of two expert interpreters that had experience translating testimony in court proceedings.

In addition to Prechtel, several other witnesses took the stand on Thursday on behalf of the commonwealth.

Cecilia Jordan, a second cousin to Francis Milliard, testified that she had approximately eight phone conversations with Francis the day after the fire.

She added that Francis Milliard was joking about Park having a “weenie roast” at her house and that Francis later became angry after he learned that Smith’s house caught on fire and not Park’s.

Through cross examination, Jordan admitted that she was addicted to methamphetamine at the time and that she did not speak about her conversations with Francis Milliard until she was in legal trouble.

William Thorwart testified that he heard Francis Milliard mention a “weenie roast” at Park’s house the day after the fire as he visited Milliard to borrow a tool; Thorwart worked for Milliard at various points over the preceding eight years.

For her part, Donna Covel testified that Francis Milliard had asked her to find more information about the fire at Park’s home.

Covel testified that she told Francis Milliard the fire was not at Park’s home and that he became angry and ended the conversation.

During Covel’s testimony, McMahon played recordings of several phone calls that Francis Milliard placed to Covel.

In the recordings, Francis Milliard repeatedly states that Anthony Milliard needed to take the fifth and that Francis was going to hire an attorney to make sure that happened.

Covel testified that she gave $2,000 to John Lackatos, a friend of Francis Milliard’s defense attorney, to meet with Anthony Milliard in the Elk County Prison.

Lackatos also took the stand on Thursday.

He testified that Francis Milliard originally hired Michael Hadley to represent Anthony Milliard, but when Francis was arrested, Hadley remained in service to Francis.

According to Lackatos, Hadley had asked if he would be willing to represent Anthony Milliard as he could not represent Anthony and Francis.

Lackatos never appeared in court on behalf of Anthony Milliard; James L. Martin represented Anthony as the public defender at the time.

Lackatos further testified that his discussions with Anthony Milliard were not to tell him to take the Fifth Amendment or to threaten him about testifying against his father.

Ridgway Borough Police Officer Bridgette Asti later testified that she was called to the prison upon the request of Anthony Milliard, who reported that he was intimidated by an attorney at the prison.

Asti testified that no charges were ever filed in the case.

In addition to the testimony presented by Covel and Lackatos, McMahon played a recorded conversation between Francis Milliard and Patty Milliard, Anthony Milliard’s mother.

In the conversation, Francis Milliard urges Patty to visit Anthony and to tell him to take the Fifth Amendment at Francis’s preliminary hearing.

Patrick McMackin testified that he accompanied Agosti to the interview of Kelsey Stahli on July 9, 2012; this interview led to Anthony Milliard becoming a suspect in the 2012 arson.

All of these witnesses joined the seven witnesses that testified on Wednesday on behalf of the commonwealth.

Having presented all of his evidence, McMahon rested on Thursday.

The defense was given the opportunity to present evidence, however, Francis Milliard chose not to testify and Ryan did not call any witnesses to the stand. Ryan also previously waived his opportunity to give an opening statement.

Today, each attorney will deliver his closing argument before 12 Elk County residents will determine whether Francis Milliard is guilty or innocent in this case.

Milliard is currently facing 28 charges.

Erie County Senior Judge John Bozza is presiding over the trial.