PORTLAND – One of three men who set fires in downtown Lewiston buildings to conceal a burglary in December was sentenced Thursday to eight years in federal prison.

Timothy Giggey, 28, of Auburn told a U.S. District Court judge a day earlier that he accepted full responsibility for his part in the arson that destroyed four Lisbon Street buildings. The fires led to the buildings being razed, which has left a wide gap in the center of the city’s commercial district.

He also was ordered to pay, along with his co-defendant, $351,333.33 in restitution to the insurance company that paid building owners $3.2 million on their policy.

Giggey’s brother and co-defendant, Douglas Hersom, 26, of Lewiston also has pleaded guilty to a federal charge and is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court on Aug. 28. A third man, Troy Littlefield, who was 17 at the time of the crime, also had been charged with arson and burglary. He pleaded guilty in March at 8th District Court in Lewiston and was sentenced to attend juvenile drug court for at least a year, a clerk said.

The federal crime is punishable by up to 20 years and carries up to $250,000 in fines.

Giggey appeared in federal court Thursday dressed in an orange jail suit. He stood as Judge D. Brock Hornby imposed his sentence.

“Arson is a horrible, horrible crime,” Hornby told him, after formulating Giggey’s sentence according to strict federal guidelines.

“It could have been deadly,” Hornby said. “It was a scary thing for the people of Lewiston to see that city block go up in flames.”

Hornby told Giggey, who was said to be a follower, to learn to think for himself.

Hornby added three years of supervised release to Giggey’s sentence, as well as several restrictions during that time.

After he leaves prison, Giggey must:

• give a DNA sample;

• not have or use controlled substances;

• submit to drug testing;

• not have a firearm;

• receive drug and alcohol abuse therapy; and

• not have contact with Hersom or Littlefield.

His family – who spoke Wednesday – and girlfriend sat in the front row of the courtroom during Thursday’s sentencing. None of the victims appeared in court.

Hornby weighed several factors in arriving at Giggey’s sentence, including two prior burglary convictions. Precedent in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for his district required Hornby to label Giggey a “career offender,” due to the definition of “crime of violence,” thereby adding time to his sentence. Hornby urged Giggey to appeal his sentence because prior rulings at appellate courts in other districts differed in their interpretation of “crimes of violence,” Hornby said.

“There’s a strong argument in this case to go all the way to the (U.S.) Supreme Court,” he said “People should be treated the same.”

Hornby also subtracted time from Giggey’s sentence because he accepted responsibility for what he did.

Hornby said Giggey should be enrolled in a residential drug abuse program while in prison and recommended a facility close to Maine that would enable his family to visit more easily.

Giggey also got credit for three months he served in state custody before federal charges were brought, reducing his term to 95 months. He also already has spent four months in federal custody. With time off for good behavior, Giggey could end up serving about 80 percent of his sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee said.

The defense asked that Giggey be given a sentence of four to five years, or about half of what he actually received, according to his attorney, James Hewes of Portland.

The state dismissed arson and burglary charges against Giggey and Hersom after they were charged with the federal crime in March. The federal charge was brought because the property destroyed in the fire was owned by an organization that was receiving assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and through a community block grant.

Police said in a sworn affidavit that the trio set fires in two of the buildings to create a diversion after breaking into one of the buildings to steal copper. The blaze ruined four buildings: Greely, Cressey, Kora and New England Furniture. All had to be knocked down. The demolition closed the city’s main thoroughfare for days.

Witnesses said they saw the three flee from the back of one of the buildings shortly after the fire was called in.