Millinocket man to serve a year in prison for setting church fire

June 03-- Jun. 3--A Millinocket man was sentenced Monday at the Penobscot Judicial Center to six years in prison with all but a year suspended in connection with setting three fires at a Millinocket church last year.

Adam Turner, 21, pleaded guilty in April to one count each of arson and burglary in a plea agreement with the Penobscot County district attorney's office.

Turner broke into the Church of the Nazarene on Forest Avenue on June 20 and set three fires causing about $60,000 in damage, according to the prosecution.

In addition to prison time, Superior Court Justice William Anderson sentenced Turner to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $500 to the church to reimburse the congregation for its insurance deductible.

DNA evidence linked Turner to the crime, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said in February after Turner was arrested.

Turner had no affiliation with the church and no clear motive was established for the blaze, but June 20 was his 21st birthday.

Assistant District Attorney Brendan Trainor said after the sentencing that Turned admitted to drinking heavily before the fire.

Turner had been held since his arrest at the Penobscot County Jail unable to post $20,000 bail. That time will be credited toward his sentence.

He faced up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the arson charge, and up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 on the burglary charge.

___

(c)2019 the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine)

Visit the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) at www.bangordailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.