BOSTON, July 21, 2014—An East Boston man was arraigned today on charges he set a fire in an alley off of Falcon Street that caused thousands of dollars in damage to a nearby home, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JOHN F. CHERRY (D.O.B. 7/3/86) was arraigned in East Boston Municipal Court on a charge of arson of a dwelling.  Assistant District Attorney Kaushal Rana requested bail of $5,000.  Judge John McDonald imposed $1,000 bail.

According to prosecutors, Boston Police and Boston Fire responded to a report of a fire at 26 Falcon Street at approximately 3:40 p.m. yesterday.  Upon their arrival, police observed firefighters extinguished a fire in an alley way.  The fire appeared to have started in an open trash bag that was placed near a broken basement window and spread to the building’s exterior, prosecutors said.

Though quickly knocked down, the blaze caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to the multi-family home, prosecutors said.

As part of their investigation, Boston Police and Boston Fire investigators gathered surveillance video from the area. Among the imagery they collected was footage showing Cherry walking down the alley and then walking back a few minutes later.  Moments after he emerged, the fire began, prosecutors said.

Cherry was represented for bail purposes by attorney Jane Ross.  He will return to court August 8.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.