BANGOR, Maine — A Penobscot County jury Friday found a Prentiss Township man guilty of arson in the burning of a state fire marshal’s car four years ago.
It was the second time John A. Weckerly, 58, was tried on the charge. A different jury deadlocked on Aug. 2, 2013, after hearing the same evidence. Superior Court Justice William Anderson, who presided over the four-day retrial at Penobscot Judicial Center, declared a mistrial on the arson charge two years ago.
The jury of five women and seven men deliberated Friday for less than an hour before reaching their decision.
The trial, which began Monday, was not held Thursday.
The judge did not set a sentencing date Friday.
Anderson allowed Weckerly to remain free on bail with conditions that he not return to his home in Prentiss Township and be supervised by Volunteers of America, a pre- and post-trial services organization.
The judge also ordered Weckerly to undergo a mental health evaluation before being sentenced.
Weckerly was indicted by a Penobscot County grand jury in April 2012 on a dozen charges — four counts of arson, five counts of criminal mischief and one count each of aggravated criminal mischief, burglary and theft by unauthorized taking. The following year, jurors found Weckerly not guilty on the 11 other charges.
He was arrested without incident and charged with arson early on Aug. 3, 2011.
A trained dog tracked the suspected arsonist from Fire Marshal Sgt. Timothy York’s destroyed car to Weckerly’s home about half a mile away, Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy told the jury Monday in his opening statement.
“He had complaints [about his neighbors] and these complaints will help you understand why there was a stakeout and why all of this happened,” the prosecutor said.
York and two other fire investigators were on a midnight detail investigating three previous arsons and incidents of graffiti in the area, Almy said.
The car was set ablaze with a flammable liquid, and a bucket of gasoline was found on the roadway leading to Weckerly’s home. Gloves covered with gasoline were found hanging in his shed, the prosecutor said Monday.
Almy said after Friday’s verdict that after the mistrial, he considered what might have caused the mistrial.
“We presented the evidence in a different manner,” he said outside the courthouse.
Defense attorney Kirk Bloomer described Weckerly in his opening statement Monday as “a loner,” who “did not get along well with his neighbors.”
Bloomer, who declined to comment Friday, said in his opening statement that the evidence proved the chemicals found in the burned-out car were those that make up kerosene, not gasoline. Bloomer also told jurors that Zorro, the K-9 used to track the suspected arsonist, was too young and inexperienced to follow a scent as well as more experienced dogs.
The retrial was delayed so Bloomer could appeal Anderson’s denial of his motion to dismiss the arson charge after the judge declared a mistrial to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. In November, the justices unanimously affirmed Anderson’s decision.
BDN writer Nok-Noi Ricker contributed to this report.