UPDATED: Peabody man charged in arson try

Dec. 10--PEABODY -- A Peabody man who was $9,000 behind on his rent and facing eviction, allegedly admitted to police that he set a fire in his Main Street apartment to collect on a recently-acquired renter's insurance policy, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Teandre Moore, 33, of 1 Main St., was "severely in debt," prosecutor Gabrielle Foote Clark told a Peabody District Court judge during Moore's arraignment on arson charges. She asked that Moore's release in a three-week-old Salem case be revoked and that the judge set $50,000 bail on the new charges.

"He's starting a fire in an occupied building," Clark told Judge Michael Patten, when Moore interrupted. "That I live in," Moore told the judge, before his attorney shushed him. Clark said Moore poses a risk to public safety.

Patten agreed, revoking Moore's bail in the Salem case, which involved assault charges, and setting $10,000 bail in the arson case.

Not guilty pleas were entered on Moore's behalf to charges of attempting to burn a building, burning personal property to defraud an insurer, malicious destruction of property and attempting to disable a fire alarm system.

Clark said the fire was set sometime before 9 a.m., in a bathroom wastebasket inside Moore's apartment in the recently renovated O'Shea building, a 20-unit, four-story building in Peabody Square.

Firefighters responding to an alarm from the building discovered that the fire had burned itself out before they arrived, melting the wastebasket and filling the apartment with smoke.

With no obvious source of ignition, investigators brought in the state fire marshal's office and an arson dog, who did not detect any sort of accelerant.

The building's owner, Pasquale Todisco, told investigators that Moore was five months behind on his rent and owed him $9,000. Todisco told investigators he had begun eviction proceedings at the end of October -- proceedings Moore told his lawyer he believed were in violation of the federal Centers for Disease Control moratorium.

Last month, Todisco told investigators Moore showed him a Geico renter's insurance policy with $15,000 worth of coverage for belongings and $100,000 in liability, Clark told the judge.

Images from the building's security cameras showed Moore leaving his apartment with several large bags around 8:40 a.m., stopping to check for mail, and then returning about five minutes later and pulling the fire alarm. He then left again.

Clark said Moore had disconnected the alarm in his apartment, apparently sometime on Sunday evening.

Moore agreed to an interview with investigators Tuesday afternoon and, Clark said, admitted setting the fire to collect on the insurance policy.

Mark Gallant, who represented Moore at his arraignment, said Moore had been recently taking part in a COVID-19 vaccine trial and was also waiting for word on a background check for a job with UPS. Moore interrupted his lawyer to tell the judge he was also driving for Uber.

Gallant said Moore was seeing a therapist regularly. That was a condition of his release in the earlier case in Salem.

Moore told his lawyer he "has no memory" of his police interview -- then said Moore believed someone had planted a "bomb" in his refrigerator. That touched off a discussion between the judge and Moore, who claimed someone had been entering his apartment, trying on his shoes and moving his belongings.

Peabody fire Chief Joseph Daly said Moore could have hurt others. "Setting fire in a 20-unit apartment building, attempting to disable the fire alarms and then leaving, put every other resident in harm's way," Daly said in a press release announcing the arrest. "Fortunately this fire stayed small, but all fires start small and can grow extremely fast."

Peabody police Chief Thomas Griffin credited investigators, which included his department's detectives, for working quickly to identify a suspect.

"The team worked quickly and effectively to solve this case," Griffin said in a press release. "Many people may be facing similar difficult situations but setting a fire is not the answer."

Patten ordered Moore to have no contact with his landlord and to stay away from the building if released. A probable cause hearing is set for Jan. 6.

Griffin said those facing a housing crisis can reach out to organizations like North Shore Community Action Programs for help.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

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