FAYETTE, Maine — A 17-year-old local boy is accused of intentionally setting a fire on July 20 that destroyed a vacant house at 1173 Pond Road in Mt. Vernon, Sgt. Ken Grimes of the Maine Office of the State Fire Marshal said Friday.
The Fayette juvenile was issued a summons charging him with arson and was released to his mother, he said.
The property was a single-family residential house that had been vacant for about 10 years, he said.
State fire investigators were led to the suspect through information provided by a witness, who saw a male flee the area moments before the 5:13 a.m. fire was noticed, Grimes said in a release Thursday.
“A description of the fleeing male was posted in a local community store, and several witnesses came forward with a possible identity,” Grimes said.
The Mt. Vernon Fire Department assisted investigators in the case.
“It was a community effort, one which is always helpful in solving these types of crimes,” Grimes said.
The juvenile, whose name is not being released due to his age, is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Oct. 9 at Waterville District Court.
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And since he is underage I bet that he will just get a slap on the hand! 17 is really close to 18 and setting fire to a house? Thank god it was vacant!
Right but what is the point of a juvenile justice system? And what is the standard for who gets tried as an adult and who doesn’t? I don’t disagree with the point your making at all, the punishment the boys receives will be far less than he deserves. It is a slippery slope, some kids can be rehabilitated and put back into society, and some cannot. Its a flawed system for sure, and it will probably never change in our lifetime unfortunately…
Let’s hope he learns his lesson and doesn’t become a repeat offender and kill someone.
What the heck was he doing out at 5 a.m.???
Giving this kid back to his mother may not be the best course of action. Apparently she could not handle him before this arson took place. Where is Dad in all of this? October 9 is a whole lot of dark nights away.
This young man is old enough to commit a serious offense, or at least that is what he is accused of. He is old enough to be held accountable. The offense he is accused of is a very dangerous one. It is just luck that it was an empty house that was set on fire this time. Fire setting is a dangerous behavior, and one that usually indicates a great deal of rage. I hope he is under some supervision from an outside agency and not just under the supervision of his mother.