A second man has been charged in the case of an arson fire that destroyed construction equipment in Sandy River Plantation recently, police said.
Alexander Allan, 37, of Dallas Plantation, was arrested Thursday night on a charge of arson, a class A felony, by investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal, according to a news release from Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
On Tuesday, Allan’s roommate, Devon Clark, 18, was arrested in connection with the arson case as well.
Both men were taken to the Franklin County Jail in Farmington. Allan was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail,. Clark’s bail was set at $175,000, but that was changed to personal recognizance bail that allowed him to released. Personal recognizance bail is a written agreement saying the defendant will attend court appearances and not engage illegal activity.
Hunters discovered the burned-out Caterpillar D-5 bulldozer early Tuesday morning in a swamp area off of Beech Hill Road in Sandy River Plantation. Sandy River Plantation, bisected by Route 4, is just south of Rangeley and about 30 miles northwest of Farmington.
The cost of the repairing damage to the bulldozer was estimated at $100,000, according to police.
An excavator also had been taken from the worksite and was damaged but not set on fire.
Both pieces of equipment are owned by Cousineau Wood Products of Wilton, which also owns the land they were found on. The equipment was being used to repair a road on the property, McCausland said.
More arrests are likely, according to McCausland.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Warden Service assisted in the case.
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