FARMINGTON — A Massachusetts man, the third co-defendant in an arson case, was arrested on Wednesday by the Gardner Police Department in Massachusetts, according to a release from the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Michael Stanley, 23, of Gardner, faces a charge of arson in Maine. Stanley, along with Devon Clark, 18, of Rangeley and Alexander Allan, 37, of Dallas Plantation, are accused of burning a Caterpillar D-5 bulldozer Nov. 14. The bulldozer, which belongs to Cousineau Inc. of Wilton, was in Sandy River Plantation on the company’s property.
Clark was staying with Allan in Dallas Plantation at the time of the fire.
Stanley is being held on a fugitive from justice charge at a Massachusetts jail and is awaiting extradition to Maine, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
Investigators from the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal said Stanley was a friend of Clark and Allan, McCausland’s release states.
The burned-out bulldozer was discovered by hunters in a swamp Nov. 14. Damage is estimated at $100,000.
Clark was arrested on a Class A arson charge Nov. 14. He was released on personal recognizance and a supervised bail agreement from the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington. Allan was arrested on a Class A arson charge Nov. 17. He was released from the jail on a $2,500 cash bail and a supervised bail agreement.
A conviction on the arson charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
The bulldozer and excavator also owned by Cousineau were on the company’s property. The excavator was taken from where it was parked and driven off to the side of a dirt road some distance away. It had been damaged but not by fire, according to authorities.
Michael Stanley (Gardner Police Department Records, Massachusetts)
A burned-out Caterpillar D-5 bulldozer was found Nov. 14 in Sandy River Plantation in northern Franklin County. The machine is owned by Cousineau Inc. of Wilton and was valued at $100,000. Three men have been charged in the case. (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office)
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