ROCKLAND, Maine — A 51-year-old Union man who was convicted of setting fire to a farmhouse in 2007, which killed two horses and forced a family to flee for their lives, will serve three more years behind bars for drinking.
Darrell W. Degreenia was ordered Tuesday in Knox County Unified Court to serve 36 months of a previously suspended prison sentence for violating his probation. Degreenia’s probation officer conducted a routine check on Degreenia and found that he was drinking beer, there were nine beers in the refrigerator, and there was a bag full of empty beer cans in the kitchen.
Degreenia’s probation prohibited him from possessing or consuming beer.
He had been convicted of arson and two counts of cruelty to animals for setting fire to a home and barn in August 2007 in Washington. Police said the fire, which destroyed the buildings, was in retaliation for the family testifying in a previous criminal case. Degreenia was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but three years suspended for those crimes.
After serving those three years, he was convicted of indecent conduct in April 2011 for masturbating along the side of the road. He had 90 days of his previously suspended sentence reinstated for that offense.
He had an additional six months imposed in August 2012 after he was caught drinking alcohol and violating probation in July. While trying to arrest him at that time, police had to use a Taser to subdue Degreenia, who had reached for a knife in his back pocket.
And in April 2013, Degreenia went to a neighbor’s home and tried to invite himself for dinner. The woman declined and moments later saw Degreenia masturbating in her yard. He was ordered to serve an additional two years in prison for that infraction.