AUBURN — A Lewiston woman was sentenced Wednesday to serve nearly four years behind bars for setting fires in a Lewiston apartment almost a year ago.

Jackie McBurnie, 34, of 197 Bartlett St. told a judge in Androscoggin County Superior Court that mental illness coupled with addiction were to blame for her actions on Jan. 1 and 2, when she started two fires at a Bartlett Street apartment.

In a plea agreement, McBurnie was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with all but three years and nine months of that sentence suspended, followed by four years of probation.

Two of four arson counts were dismissed.

During her probation, McBurnie must engage in mental health and substance abuse counseling, adhere to a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and not return to 168 Bartlett St., the address of the fires.

She must refrain from use and possession of illegal drugs and will be subject to random search and testing. She must take all prescribed medications.

Her attorney, James Howaniec, told Justice MaryGay Kennedy that his client suffered from multiple mental illnesses and that they had discussed going to trial with a defense showing she had an abnormal condition of mind.

But McBurnie decided on the plea deal, despite some misgivings, Howaniec said.

“It’s a tragic case, he said, “frustrated by a lack of resources at the state level.”

“It’s the best thing,” McBurnie told the judge. “I need to move past this.”

She will be credited with the year she’s already spent in Androscoggin County Jail.

During her time in jail, she has crocheted items for schoolchildren and worked on her General Education Development certificate, which is the equivalent of a high school diploma.

McBurnie’s family and friends were in the courtroom to show their support.

McBurnie had 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 and igniting it with a lighter, according to investigators. They said they found combustible materials shoved into the wall behind the outlet. McBurnie said she had become frightened after setting that fire and quickly put it out.

She had 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 was in the courtroom Wednesday.

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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