Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

AUGUSTA

More teens charged in farmhouse arson

By Betty Adams badams@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- Three 18-year-olds were arrested and charged with arson over the weekend in connection with a Feb. 21 blaze that destroyed an abandoned two-story farmhouse in Manchester.

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TOTAL LOSS: Fire investigators have questioned eight suspects in connection with an arson blaze Sunday on Scribner Hill Road in Manchester. Police said five of those who were questioned are linked to another arson Saturday in Livermore Falls. The abandoned farmhouse in Manchester was destroyed by the fire.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

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Christopher Minor

Kennebec County jail

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Jordan Conant, of Winthrop, was arrested Sunday and Christopher Minor, of Winthrop, was arrested Saturday. Chandler White, of Livermore, was also arrested Sunday at the State Fire Marshal's Office and was freed on personal recognizance bail.

Five juveniles have also been charged; Kennebec County District Attorney Evert Fowle said the juveniles have court dates May 6.

"It's likely we'll file petitions in those cases," he said Monday. In that event, the names of those accused would be made public.

Conant and Minor were initially held at Kennebec County jail on $250,000 cash bail. A judge in Kennebec County Superior Court reduced bail at a hearing Monday to $50,000 worth of property or $7,500 cash.

They posted bail and were released after the hearing.

The 2 a.m. blaze at the Scribner Hill Road farmhouse owned by Lendall Dudley was intentionally set, fire investigators said. Firefighters found a cell phone at the scene, and investigators were able to quickly identify eight suspects.

Affidavits by State Fire Marshal's Office investigator Kenneth MacMaster, filed with the court in the cases of Conant and Minor, say both men admitted involvement.

MacMaster's report says eight people were interviewed, "with the three adults and four juveniles admitting that they were involved in the planning and participated in burning the home."

Sgt. Kenneth Grimes, also an investigator with the State Fire Marshal's Office, said one of the adults and the four juveniles were also involved in a Feb. 20 arson that consumed an abandoned mobile home on Park Street in Livermore Falls on. Grimes said charges have not been filed in that case, which would be handled in Androscoggin County.

At Monday's hearing in Augusta, Justice Nancy Mills set bail for Minor and banned him from use or possession of incendiary devices. She also restricted him to his Winthrop home unless he is traveling directly between school and work. Minor's attorney, Alan Stone, declined comment after Monday's hearing.

Conditions of bail ban Conant from possession or use of incendiary devices, but Mills said she would not restrict his movements since his attorney, Leonard Sharon, said Conant would be returning to college in Georgia.

Bail conditions also prohibit Minor and Conant, whose homes are on Pamela Drive, Winthrop, from contact with each other and with the property owner, Dudley.

Conant and Minor graduated from Winthrop High School last June; White is a senior at Livermore Falls High School.

White's attorney, Walter McKee, said the difference in the bail amounts could reflect different roles of those accused.

"What is clear from everyone we've spoken to is that Chandler had no idea when he met up with the other boys that night what the other boys had planned," McKee said. "The other boys even said in the car, 'Should we tell Chandler what we're doing?' and they all said 'no.' Chandler never aided, assisted, participated or contributed in any way to what happened that night."

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com