FAYETTE – A 17-year-old local boy is accused of intentionally setting a fire on July 20 that destroyed a vacant house at 1173 Pond Road in Mt. Vernon, Sgt. Ken Grimes of the Maine Office of the State Fire Marshal said Friday.
The Fayette juvenile was issued a summons charging him with arson and was released to his mother, he said.
The property was a single-family residential house that had been vacant for about 10 years, he said.
State fire investigators were led to the suspect through information provided by a witness, who saw a male flee the area moments before the 5:13 a.m. fire was noticed, Grimes said in a release Thursday.
“A description of the fleeing male was posted in a local community store, and several witnesses came forward with a possible identity,” Grimes said.
The Mt. Vernon Fire Department assisted investigators in the case.
“It was a community effort, one which is always helpful in solving these types of crimes,” Grimes said.
The juvenile, whose name is not being released due to his age, is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Oct. 9 at Waterville District Court.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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