PARIS — Police said a 19-year-old Bryant Pond man faces felony arson and burglary charges for intentionally burning down two seasonal homes on North Pond this spring.
Jordan Caldwell made an initial appearance in 11th District Court on Monday afternoon on two counts each of arson and burglary.
He was arrested Saturday afternoon in Woodstock by state fire investigator Dan Young and taken to the Oxford County Jail in Paris.
According to court documents, Caldwell broke into a Gore Road home in Woodstock on Thursday, March 26, and set a fire that razed the home. On Friday, May 15, Caldwell broke into a second home on Gore Road in Woodstock and ignited a fire that gutted the building.
Damage to the two buildings is expected to exceed $500,000. Caldwell, a 2014 graduate of Telstar Regional High School, lives with his grandmother on Gore Road, not far from the fires.
According to an affidavit by investigator Dan Young of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Caldwell initially told authorities he had spent the day fishing but later confessed to breaking into the homes looking for items to steal.
Young said Caldwell told him he set the fires to cover evidence of the burglaries. Smoke detectors were disabled to prevent them from sounding.
Young said the origins of the fires were consistent with Caldwell’s account and that in both instances witnesses reported seeing a male at the scene prior to the blazes.
Neither building was occupied at the time, both of which Young said were summer homes on North Pond.
Each arson charge carries a maximum of 30 years in prison; the burglary charges carry 10 years in prison apiece. Caldwell has no prior criminal history.
Bail was set at $10,000 cash.
ccrosby@sunmediagroup.net
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