An Oxford County woman pleaded guilty Thursday to arson charges, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank said.
Jaymi Hutchins, 31, formerly of Gilead, Maine, and Rochester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in Portland to “maliciously damaging and destroying property used in interstate commerce by fire,” Frank said in a statement.
Court records indicate that Hutchins intentionally set a fire inside a vehicle in the parking lot of a vehicle towing, recovery, sales and repair business in Lebanon on Oct. 25, 2016. The prosecution identifies the company in court documents as A.C. Provo Inc., which is located on the Carl Broggi Highway.
The fire destroyed three vehicles, including a commercial wrecker. Hutchins was apprehended following a two-day investigation which revealed, among other evidence, that she had stolen a vehicle from the business that she later crashed and abandoned.
Frank said that Hutchins faces between five and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
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