PERRY, Maine — Two friends from the rural Washington County town of Perry were arrested Friday and charged with arson in connection with a house fire that destroyed one of the homes they owned in the town last year, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said in a written statement Saturday.
The charges stem from an investigation by the state fire marshal’s office. McCausland said one of those arrested, Scott A. MacNichol, 35, is a member of the Board of Selectmen in the community.
The other individual, 36-year-old Jeffrey Morrison, the owner of a home that allegedly was burned for insurance proceeds, was arrested and charged with two counts of arson and one count of criminal conspiracy to commit arson, along with perjury and insurance deception. He lives on Shore Road.
MacNichol, who lives on Johnson Road, was charged with two counts of arson and one count of criminal conspiracy to commit arson, all of which are felony crimes.
The blaze that prompted the investigation occurred on April 26, 2014, and destroyed a vacant single-family dwelling belonging to Morrison on Lake Road in Perry, according to Fire Marshal Investigator Jeremy Damren. The house was allegedly burned to collect insurance proceeds. The investigative case was presented recently to Washington County District Attorney Matt Foster, who approved the charges and the arrests of both men.
Fire marshals were assisted during the 18-month investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Maine State Police.
Morrison and MacNichol are free on bail after being taken toWashington County Jail.