01/09/2009
Ronald A. Hanson Jr., 33, pleaded guilty in June 2008 in Kennebec County Superior Court to two counts of arson: one count involving the home that was built in the 1870s, another involving a vehicle that was set afire Sept. 16, 2005, in Belgrade.
He was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison, with all but 59 months suspended, and four years of probation. Part of his sentence requires that he cooperate with authorities in cases against an unnamed co-defendant.
"No one else has been charged with the Augusta arson at this point," said Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley. "The investigation is on-going."
In both cases, Hanson was accused of setting fires to enable someone else to collect insurance proceeds.
The house fire was reported early on Jan. 1, 2008, and was far advanced when firefighters arrived. The State Fire Marshal's Office said it was caused by an "intentional human element."
Firefighters were on the scene for seven hours and two responders suffered minor injuries slipping on ice.
The home, which was owned by and being refit for the family of M. David Davis, had once been the home of Frank E. Southard Jr., a lawyer who served as a municipal judge and was retired from the military.
Hanson, formerly of Winthrop, previously pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal mischief for helping to flood the jail by fouling the sewage system with blankets, jail uniforms and other clothing Jan. 11, 2007.
He was in jail on an unrelated charge.
He was sentenced in June 2007 to four months in jail and ordered to pay up to $21,397 in restitution for the pipe clogging incident.
At the time Hanson pleaded guilty, Kelley classified the case as an "arson-for-hire."
"We did not seek restitution partly cause of probable inability to pay, and we are hopeful another or others will be charged in the future that we will obtain restitution from," Kelley said Thursday.
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