AUBURN — A 22-year-old Greene man has pleaded guilty to torching an Auburn apartment building last April.

Randen Schmidt pleaded guilty to arson, a felony, in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Thursday. In accordance with a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but two-and-a-half years suspended. He must also complete four years of probation. 

Schmidt could have faced up to 30 years in prison. When Justice William Brodrick asked if he had anything to say before sentencing, Schmidt said, “I appreciate everything.”

The fire was set in a vacant first-floor apartment at 22-24 Webster St. early in the morning April 30. The fire was reported at 3:40 a.m. Krista Caron, her husband and two children, the only occupants of the four-unit building, were alerted to the blaze by Auburn firefighters. The family escaped without injury. A pet cat died.

The building sustained heavy damage at the rear and smoke and water damage at the front of the first floor.

In court Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins said evidence showed that Schmidt, who had been evicted from the apartment, admitted to a friend that he’d started the fire, saying, “Now you can add arson to the list” as he got into her car outside the building that early morning. Robbins said Schmidt had set the fire using an accelerant in three spots. 

Through his lawyer, Schmidt admitted that he’d started the fire and said he did it while he was drunk.

As part of his sentence, Schmidt must undergo substance abuse counseling and pay $1,000 in restitution. Though the judge ultimately gave him 18 months to pay the restitution after he leaves prison, Schmidt offered to pay within a year. 

“I’m going to get motivated as soon as I get out,” he said.

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