Mark Mickey, co-owner of Pavona's Pizza, pleads guilty to arson in fire that destroyed restaurant

Mark Mickey, the co-owner of Pavona's Pizza Joint and Mickey's Irish Pub, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of arson, a fourth-degree felony, according to the Summit County Prosecutor's Office.

Mickey, 57, was accused of setting fire to the pizza joint located on Sand Run Road in October 2022.

Video: Akron police, fire say co-owner left Pavona's 6 minutes before smoke is seen, video shows

This plea came two days before his jury trial was slated to begin Thursday. He recently told the court he could not afford attorney Peter Cahoon, who left and then rejoined the case alongside attorney Olivia Myers.

His restaurant, Mickey's Irish Pub, had shut its doors in January. The pub's website and Facebook page were taken down around the same time.

Blaze determined to be arson

An Akron Police Department report stated that the fire started under the staircase on the kitchen side of the restaurant. Electrical panels that were in the same room were determined to have not caused the fire.

Investigators determined that the blaze was not an electrical fire, taking into account the movement, intensity, damage and rapid growth of the fire, the Beacon Journal reported in February 2023.

"There is no other competent ignition source, and no explainable plausible way for the fire to have occurred in that location under the stairs other than by human hand," the report states.

Mickey will be sentenced on May 23 at 9 a.m.

Fourth-degree felonies are punishable by up to six to 18 months in prison under Ohio law.

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mark Mickey pleads guilty to arson in fire that destroyed Pavona's Pizza