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They initially charged Carlos Jimenez-Najera, 35, with aggravated arson on April 15 after neighbors reported watching a fire burn at the Pearl Street home and a burn bottle of accelerent was found nearby, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.
Jiminez-Najeroa was evicted from the home a week before and tried torching it several times before he was caught, the prosecutor said in a release.
Authorities decided not to hold him more than 48 hours because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jimenez-Najera turned around and tried burning the house down a second time on Tuesday, they said.
Neighbors helped extinguish the fire and held Jimenez-Najera until police arrived.
Officers said they found him holding a can of charcoal lighter fluid.
Prosecutors planned to ask a judge to keep Jimenez-Najera jailed in the Mercer County Correction Center until trial, said MCPO spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio
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