Court documents say Allan Thomas Vigil admitted to setting fire to the Dike Newell School in Bath last summer.
WEST BATH, Maine — Through his defense attorney, Allan Thomas Vigil asked for a 10-year prison sentence through a memorandum filed in West Bath District Court Wednesday.
Vigil was arrested and charged with arson and burglary after allegedly setting fire to the Dike Newell School in Bath last June. Two firefighters were sent to the hospital after working to put out the fire.
In court documents filed by Vigil’s attorney, Jennifer Cohen, Vigil stated he started the fire with a BIC lighter after entering the school through a window in the kitchen and was intoxicated at the time.
The documents show damage to the school is estimated at $6 million and insurance was available to cover damages up to $12 million. The fire started in an art supply room and spread through the building, according to the documents.
Cohen also asked the court for her client to serve an eight-year concurrent prison sentence for the burglary charge. In her sentencing recommendations, Cohen acknowledged Vigil’s prior conviction of arson in 2014 when he was sentenced to 18 years, all but five years suspended.
The defense also wrote in its reasoning for the proposed sentence, that Vigil has had a lengthy history of developmental issues, mental illness, and years of neglect and abuse. Cohen did acknowledge Vigil’s threat to the public caused by “fire-setting”: damage to the school, the inconvenience to students, staff, and parents, and the injuries to the firefighters.
Vigil’s case will resume sometime this fall.
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