SKOWHEGAN — Bail was set at $1,000 each Wednesday for two brothers from Waterville accused of torching a car in Madison with a homemade Molotov cocktail over a dispute involving stolen marijuana plants.
Alexis Casey, 25, and Zachary Casey, 22, are charged with class A counts of arson, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. They were arrested Tuesday on a warrant based on a court affidavit filed by Jeremy Damren, an investigator with the Office of State Fire Marshal.
A police affidavit alleges the brothers wanted to get even with a man they believed had stolen marijuana plants from a legal grow operation. They allegedly filled a 40-ounce bottle with gasoline and, after breaking a car window with a rock, tossed the bottle inside, burning the car completely.
Investigators found the empty beer bottle that smelled of gasoline, a lighter and a rock that they say was used to break the car window. The car was owned by a Madison woman, but the target was her boyfriend, who is out on bail pending burglary charges and has not been charged in connection with the alleged arson, the investigator’s affidavit said.
Madison firefighters extinguished the fire before it spread to a nearby three-unit apartment house, where all of the occupants were inside sleeping about 3:30 a.m. June 9. The car was 5 feet from the building.
Madison Fire Chief Don French told investigators that when he arrived at the scene, there was a small fire in the rear seat of the Chevrolet Cobalt that quickly spread, the affidavit said.
A month before the fire, Zachary Casey reportedly told people at a party in Highland Plantation that he was angry at a woman’s boyfriend for stealing what he thought was about $2,000 worth of marijuana plants and “he was going to burn (his) car with a Molotov cocktail,” the affidavit.
In interviews with the Fire Marshal’s Office in October, Alexis Casey initially said he had no knowledge of the fire but later recanted, saying he had lied about their involvement to protect his brother, the affidavit states. He later told investigators that his brother had been drinking and that he broke the car window and Zachary lit the bottle, the affidavit said.
Zachary later told the investigators that it was his idea to torch the car, not his brother’s.
Neither man entered a plea during their first appearances Wednesday before District Court Judge Valerie Stanfill in Skowhegan. They have a dispositional hearing on their cases scheduled for Nov. 30 in Skowhegan.
Bail conditions include a curfew from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m., no alcohol or illegal drugs and the men can have no contact with anyone involved in the alleged arson. Stanfill also prohibited the brothers from possessing incendiary devices, including matches and cigarette lighters.
Zachary Casey asked the judge to relent, saying he is a smoker and would need matches.
The judge declined. “As of right now, you have quit smoking,” she said.
Doug Harlow can be contacted at 612-2367 or at:
dharlow@centralmaine.com
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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