BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo man is in trouble with the law again, this time for starting a house on fire on Delavan Avenue.

Joseph Aronica III, 35, waived his right to a felony hearing Monday morning, opting instead to face a grand jury hearing.

Police say Aronica is responsible for starting a fire on November 28 in the attic of a home on East Delavan Avenue. The fire spread to two nearby homes. No injuries were reported.

Aronica is charged with arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. 

Aronica's mother is desperate to get her son help.

"I literally can't even have a conversation with him anymore because he is that mentally ill," said Lillian Lombardo, Joseph Aronica III's mother.

Lombardo says she doesn't even know who her son is. She says now 35-year-old Joseph Aronica III has Schizoaffective and personality disorders. He was first hospitalized for his mental health issues when he was 12.

"To live this every day of your life is horrible. To go to bed at night and not know where he is. ‘Is he okay? Did he eat today?’ That's a horrible thing to live with, and I've been doing it for a long time now," said Lombardo.

Her son has been jailed 52 times, including six months behind bars for two arsons about a year ago.

Aronica's attorney, Frank Bybel said, "I tried to help him as much as I can, but nobody will take him. There's no programs for him. Once they find out he has a history of arson, no place will take him."

As his case goes to a grand jury, his mother worries he won't get him the help he needs.

"Is it going to take him to kill somebody for somebody to do something? I don't know where to turn," said Lombardo. "I'm afraid for him to go to a prison because he's not right, and I don't know how he will survive there. I'm looking to get help from the mental health system. That's where it needs to come from. There needs to be a place for him to go besides jail. A judge needs to be able to mandate him somewhere to get help."

Aronica's attorney says he is requesting a mental health evaluation, but he doesn't think it will help get him into treatment.

"He's got mental issues, but it's not enough to move him to a state facility, unfortunately. To be totally incompetent, he has to not understand anything about the system, what he's involved with, the legal system. Joe knows exactly what he's doing, as far as I'm the attorney, who the judge is. He goes to the police department. They read him his rights and he openly admits that he started these fires. He knows what he's doing," said Bybel.

His next court date has not yet been set.