Arrests made in bowling alley fire

The Loyle family reacts to the arson arrests on Wednesday. Staff photo/Cody Glenn

By TIM ZATZARINY Jr.
The Daily Journal

A rival businessman orchestrated a conspiracy to burn down Loyle Lanes, destroying the city's only bowling alley just a month shy of its 50th anniversary, police said.

Philadelphia resident Steven Henry Smink, the operator of Pike Lanes Family Fun Center on Landis Avenue in Deerfield, was arrested Tuesday along with 21-year-old Felix Antonio Manzano and a 17-year-old boy in connection with the Jan. 11 blaze.

All three were arrested in Philadelphia, where they live, and were charged with arson for hire, two counts of aggravated arson and conspiracy to commit arson.

Police on Wednesday did not release a motive or say how many of the conspirators were present when the predawn blaze was set.

The fire started at the rear of the building, on the roof, authorities said. It caused more than $4 million in damage.

Investigators found a gas can in woods behind Loyle Lanes Bowling Center following the blaze, a law enforcement source said Wednesday. Police believe gasoline in the can was used to start the fire, the source said.

Evidence at the scene, along with leads from interviews, helped point investigators to the trio, police Detective Lt. Thomas Ulrich said.

"We believe Steven Smink was the person who set up the arson," he said at a news conference held Wednesday afternoon at police headquarters to announce the arrests.

Smink, 47, is a former Philadelphia court officer, Ulrich said. He has a prior conviction for a federal weapons offense, according to police.

Authorities said Manzano, of Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia, worked for Smink at another business Smink owns and that the teen was an acquaintance of Manzano's.

Smink and Manzano were held at Northeast Detectives in Philadelphia on Wednesday, pending extradition to Cumberland County. Their bail was set at $300,000 each.

The teen, also a Frankford Avenue resident, was released to his mother pending a hearing in the Family Division of state Superior Court in Bridgeton.

Police served a search warrant at Pike Lanes on Tuesday afternoon, looking for evidence in the arson. Investigators left about 7 p.m., carrying what appeared to be two computer hard drives and two paper bags.

Ulrich would not say what evidence was seized from Pike Lanes.

On Wednesday, the Loyle family attended the news conference outside the police station along with friends and employees, and spoke with reporters afterward in the parking lot of their gutted bowling alley on South Delsea Drive.

In an interview with The Press of Atlantic City before his arrest, Smink said he was "friendly" with two of the bowling alley's owners, brothers Chuck and Mike Loyle.

But their father, Charles Loyle, 82, said Wednesday no one in the family had ever met Smink before or after he took over Pike Lanes in October 2007.

Charles Loyle said he heard from people in the local bowling community that Smink boasted "he would put us out of business in two years. It took him a little more than two years."

The destruction at Loyle Lanes made Pike Lanes the only bowling alley in Cumberland County.

Smink operated the bowling alley and leased the property from its former owner, Diana Campani-Sorelle of Bridgeton.

Campani-Sorrelle could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Authorities said she was not involved in the arson at Loyle Lanes.

Charles Loyle said Pike Lanes suffered financially after it stopped serving alcohol in July. Loyle Lanes has a liquor license and served alcohol.

Pike Lanes' liquor license has been inactive since July 1, according to the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. An ABC spokeswoman was unable to provide additional details about the license Wednesday.

Pike Lanes, which closed Tuesday afternoon when police arrived, remained shutdown Wednesday afternoon, with no cars in the parking lot. It reopened later that evening, but a manager declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation.

At Smink's home, a woman who answered the phone said, "I know nothing about it," before hanging up.

Manzano's father, also named Felix Manzano, said he didn't think his son, an electrician, would do anything like that.

"He stupid, but he's not that stupid," the elder Manzano said.

Loyle Lanes was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in February. Last year, the bowling alley underwent a $400,000 renovation that included the addition of 10-foot video screens and computerized scoring units.

Charles Loyle said his family was dumbfounded that another bowling alley operator stands accused of burning their business to the ground.

"For somebody to do this to us, to take away our opportunity to make a living, to take away our employees' opportunity to make a living, to take away a community center, it's impacted so many people, we just can't comprehend it," he said.

The family has vowed to rebuild Loyle Lanes, an effort that could take at least a year.

Loyle said the outpouring of support from the community has comforted his family since the fire.

"I told the county prosecutor, 'You might have a hard time getting a jury -- who hasn't bowled at Loyle Lanes?'"

Staff writers Kristi Funderburk and Jim Cook Jr. and The Associated Press contributed to this report.