AUBURN — A Lewiston woman who denied in court Tuesday four charges of arson is expected to undergo more mental health evaluation.

Jackie McBurnie, 33, of 197 Bartlett St. was indicted on the arson charges earlier this month by an Androscoggin County grand jury. She pleaded not guilty to all counts Tuesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court. At that hearing, a judge ordered bail for McBurnie to stay at $10,000 cash. She remains at Androscoggin County Jail in lieu of bail.

Her attorney, James Howaniec, told the judge Tuesday that he has concerns about his client’s competency to stand trial as well as her criminal responsibility in having committed any crimes. She has undergone a preliminary mental evaluation, he said.

He requested a “more thorough” evaluation by psychologists at Riverview Psychiatric Recovery Center in Augusta.

Androscoggin County Deputy District Attorney Jim Andrews didn’t object to Howaniec’s request.

McBurnie told investigators she used hairspray and a lighter to start two fires in and around electrical outlets on New Year’s Day and a day later, according to court papers.

Each of the charges is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

McBurnie confessed to starting a fire in a second-floor apartment at 168 Bartlett St. on New Year’s Day by spraying the area around a kitchen outlet with hairspray, then igniting it with a lighter, according to an affidavit by an investigator at the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal. Investigators said they found combustible materials shoved into the wall behind that kitchen outlet. McBurnie said she had become frightened after setting that fire and quickly put it out.

McBurnie called the Lewiston Fire Department to report the fire, which caused minor damage.

About 10 hours later, at about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 2, McBurnie sprayed hairspray around an outlet in her sister’s bedroom in the same apartment and lit it, she told investigators. The resulting damage to the building was extensive.

After calling 911 after the first fire, McBurnie complained about the building’s electrical wiring as well as a lack of heat despite complaints from tenants. Power was disconnected to the kitchen outlet and McBurnie was allowed to return to the apartment.

McBurnie’s twin sister, Jennifer Costello, told investigators that she had shared her apartment with McBurnie since October after she had lost her apartment. Costello said she believed McBurnie had spent her rent money on drugs, according to court papers.

Costello said she had been staying in an apartment down the street since Dec. 30. McBurnie had called Costello on Jan. 1 to report the kitchen outlet fire. McBurnie had asked her sister if she planned to return that night.

A fire investigator wrote in court papers that he believed McBurnie expected the Bartlett Street building would be closed and its tenants relocated after the fire in her kitchen on New Year’s Day. The investigator also believed that McBurnie sent a text message to another tenant in the building to warn her about the Jan. 2 fire before it occurred.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

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