Man pleads guilty to throwing incendiary device that caused fire at Tri-State grocery store

The video above is from FOX19 NOW’s previous coverage.

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A Cincinnati man accused of starting a fire at a Spring Grove Village grocery store pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Donald Donatelli, 28, took a plea deal and admitted to damaging Tree Top Grocery with a Molotov cocktail, a hand-thrown incendiary device, according to Kenneth Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

The plea agreement recommends a 66-month prison sentence, Parker said.

It happened on November 26 at 10:00 p.m

Court documents say Donatelli threw an incendiary device into a grocery store on Gwinnet Drive while the store owner and his wife were inside.

A previous report by FOX19 NOW said the fire caused $300,000 in damage and even damaged nearby buildings.

According to Parker, Donatelli went to the store with his co-defendant, Angela Schweitzer, 35.

Parker says Donatelli came to the front glass door with a bottle of gasoline with a rag inside.

He lit a rag and threw a bottle at the door while Schweitzer filmed the crime on Snapchat, Parker explained.

Donatelli pleaded guilty to malicious damage and destruction of a building in interstate commerce.

Charges against Schweitzer are still pending, Parker said.

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