A western Maine woman admitted Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland that nearly two years ago she set a fire that destroyed three vehicles, including a commercial wrecker, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Jaymi Hutchins, 31, of Gilead, Maine, and Rochester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of maliciously damaging and destroying property used in interstate commerce by fire on Oct. 25, 2016.
A sentencing date has not been set.
In exchange for her guilty plea, the U.S. attorney’s office will recommend a sentence of five years, the mandatory minimum, according to court documents. The maximum penalty is 20 years.
Hutchins also could be ordered to pay restitution. The plea agreement did not include the cost of the damage the fire caused.
The defendant intentionally set a fire inside a vehicle in the parking lot of A.C. Provo’s, Inc., a vehicle towing, recovery, repair and sales business in Lebanon.
Hutchins was arrested after a two-day investigation that revealed she stole a vehicle from the business which she later crashed and abandoned, according to documents filed in federal court. She also is facing state charges in Oxford County, related to theft of the car and the fire.
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