ELYRIA — A Lorain man had to be rescued from a cliff over the Black River yesterday by firefighters, and then he was arrested for setting a fire in the mall parking lot.
Rosemark
Daniel Rosemark, 22, of Lorain, was charged with two counts of arson and was taken to the Lorain County Jail, where he is being held on $5,000 bond.
Police were called about 1:30 p.m. and met up with mall security officers at the intersection of Ford and West River roads, according to a police report. The officers told police a man carrying a red gas can ran into the woods behind Golden Corral and that they could see smoke coming from the direction he ran.
Officers smelled burning brush but didn’t observe any active fire. They eventually located Rosemark sitting about 40 feet down the cliff with his feet dangling over another cliff about 20 feet above the Black River.
Officers attempted to climb down to Rosemark, who wouldn’t initially respond to them, but couldn’t get to him due to the steep terrain.
He told officers he didn’t want to kill himself, but that he wanted to jump from the cliff to get his bag. He told officers that he had been having a hard time finding a job and that everyone hated him because he was different. Officers determined he was suffering from schizophrenia and wasn’t taking his medication.
The Elyria Fire Department arrived and set up a rappel line. An officer was able to rappel down to Rosemark and pat him down for weapons, and firefighters then rappelled him down to the river, where he was taken into custody.
Once officers were able to ask Rosemark about the incident in the mall parking lot, he told them that he had heard people in Elyria were “talking (expletive),” so he decided to come to Elyria “and show them he doesn’t take that (expletive).”
In the mall parking lot, officers found burn mark south of the food court entrance.
Rosemark was taken to the county jail, and a two-gallon red gas can and lighter were entered into evidence.
The report noted Rosemark asked if he was allowed to return to the cliff once he is released from jail.
