Candia News : arson

Candia teenager faces arson for barn fire

Hooksett Editor — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:21:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Court documents state that an 18-year-old Candia resident has allegedly confessed to starting a fire inside her family’s Horizon Lane barn on Oct. 22.

Leanne Webster, of 139 Horizon Lane, faces a single charge of felony arson in connection with the incident. Court documents state the fire damaged at least three four-wheeled off-road vehicles in the barn. In a Candia District Court affidavit, Webster is alleged to have told police during an Oct. 28 interview she started the fire herself by setting two blankets in the barn on fire.

No one was injured in the incident, but the blaze reportedly damaged a large portion of the 16-foot-by-22-foot structure.

According to the documents, Fire Chief Rudy Carter deduced early on in the investigation that the fire had likely been set deliberately, and his observation was later confirmed by state Fire Marshal’s Office investigator Christopher Wyman. During the investigation, Wyman ruled out two electrical light fixtures as being a starting point for the fire.

The affidavit states that Webster told police on Oct. 23 that she had been arguing with her ex-boyfriend, who is a Candia firefighter, on Oct. 22 before the fire took place. Webster allegedly reported the fire herself later that day at 7:10 p.m., telling officials that “she became aware of the fire when she looked out a rear window of her home and noticed that the motion light on the barn was on and that she then noticed embers coming out of the right rear corner of the barn.”

Webster is also alleged to have voluntarily appeared at the Candia Police Station on Oct. 28, where she told officials that she set the fire by using a lighter to ignite two blankets. She allegedly told the investigators she did so out of anger at her ex-boyfriend and “was trying to get his attention.”

The affidavit also states that a Bedford insurer has tallied the damage at $15,726.

Webster did not list an employer on her court paperwork. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5.

Woman charged with attempted arson

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:06:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

A woman charged with allegedly trying to burn down a local residence was held on $10,000 cash-only bail after her arraignment in district court on Dec. 3.

Jeannie Dube, 38, of 175 Crowley Road, was charged with two felonies for attempted arson and criminal mischief following her arrest by Candia police.

According to an affidavit, Dube, who is alternately identified with the name Jeanine Dube on an arrest complaint, smashed open a glass sliding door to the Crowley Road home with an axe and then poured gasoline in a garage.

Court documents state Sgt. Scott Gallagher was notified at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3, that Dube “had possession and was also attempting to light her house on fire.” The incident prompted a response from police as well as the Candia Fire Department, but Fire Chief Rudy Cartier said on Dec. 4 no fire was started.

Instead, Cartier said, the situation was treated as a hazardous material spill. His firefighters aired out the garage and used a drying substance to remove gasoline that had been spilled on the garage’s concrete floor, he said.

Documents also state Gallagher was told that Dube was trying to start her car in the garage when he arrived at the scene, and he observed the woman to be “upset and yelling” as he approached the garage. Gallagher confronted Dube and placed her in handcuffs, and she was noted to have lacerations on her right wrist.

Police were told by relatives that Dube’s husband, Eric Dube, had recently had a phone call from his wife allegedly threatening “to ignite the house on fire.”

A relative reported finding Dube allegedly throwing gasoline on a door between the garage and the house and took the gasoline can away from her. Dube reportedly also tried to get a butane lighter from the kitchen.

Gallagher’s report indicated he could smell a gasoline odor in the garage. He also found an axe on the dining room table and “shattered glass all over the dining room and living room.” The officer also reported finding a shattered sliding glass door and a smashed glass tabletop.

Eric Dube told investigators that he and his wife were in the middle of a separation and that she had been “threatening to burn the house down and kill everyone in the house” during an earlier phone call, documents state. Jeannie Dube was treated at Manchester’s Elliot Hospital before being transported to the Rockingham County jail.

Dube was scheduled for a probable cause hearing on Thursday, Dec. 11.

Former Candia firefighter linked to arson, unsolved fires

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:47:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

A former local firefighter has been linked to unsolved fires and an alleged arson attempt dating back three years.

Flint Road resident Christopher Millspaugh, 21, was initially arrested in May for a fire which reportedly destroyed more than $100,000 worth of logging equipment belonging to an area logging firm.

According to documents, Millspaugh has allegedly been involved in two fires and one arson attempt in town as well as leak of propane gas at the Hillcrest Apartment complex.

An indictment list released by Rockingham Superior Court indicates he is facing four felony and three misdemeanor charges that claim his involvement in incidents dating back to August of 2005.

Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said on Sept. 11 that he could not discuss how investigators linked Millspaugh to the fires, which took place prior to the May incident. That fire was the most destructive of the incidents Millspaugh is charged with being involved in, and it destroyed two large self-propelled pieces of lumber equipment that were involved in a town-authorized wood-clearing project on a parcel abutting his Flint Road residence.

A Candia District Court affidavit states Millspaugh told police he found the fire after glimpsing an “orange glow” in the woods near his home. Documents state that Millspaugh allegedly gave a “detailed confession” less than a week after the fire and reportedly admitted to having started it with self-igniting road flares.

Documents allege that Millspaugh is also accused of having told a local youth to “cause a leak of propane gas” at the 24-unit Hillcrest Apartments on Old Candia Road on Aug. 11, 2005. The minor was 15 at the time of the incident, and a barbecue grill propane tank was reportedly found to be opened and leaking propane.

No fire was reported in that incident. The next allegation is dated about a year later when a large brush fire was extinguished in a house foundation on Flint Road in July 2006, and Millspaugh is also charged with an attempted arson that was reported a month later at the Candia Woods Golf Links.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 14, 2006, officers Kevin Cashman and Kevin Bowen were conducting a routine check of local businesses when they found a fire-starter log lying against the beam of a maintenance shed. The flames were extinguished before significant damage occurred.

In total, Millspaugh faces two arson charges, one attempted arson charge and a charge of reckless conduct as well as misdemeanor counts for endangering the welfare of a minor, arson and reckless conduct.

Shortly after the May incident and Millspaugh’s subsequent arrest, Fire Chief Rudy Cartier said the situation had been a “devastating” one for his small close-knit volunteer department. Select Board Chairman Fred Kelley echoed a similar sentiment after being informed of the additional charges against Millspaugh, who had been hailed earlier as a dedicated young firefighter who had joined the department as a Junior Fire Explorer at only 14. “It’s really taken the wind out of my sails. Very sad,” Kelley said.

Candia firefighter charged with arson

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:09:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

Court documents say a 21-year-old local firefighter charged with two felony counts of arson admitted to police that he set the blaze which destroyed $125,000 worth of logging equipment.

Christopher Millspaugh, a Flint Road resident, was arrested and arraigned on May 21 following a weeklong investigation into the May 14 fire which destroyed logging equipment belonging to the Brookfield-based firm Moose Mountain Logging. At his arraignment, Millspaugh was released after posting $5,000 cash bail.

Fire Chief Rudy Cartier said Millspaugh had started his time with the Candia Volunteer Fire Department as a 14-year-old Fire Explorer, later becoming a fullfledged member at age 18.

The young man was placed on administrative leave shortly after his arrest, and Cartier said the entire department is “shocked and saddened” by the recent events.

Cartier said he met with Millspaugh briefly to explain the administrative leave process. “He seemed OK about it,” said Cartier. “I basically told him that we’ll wait and see what happens and how the process goes through. Everybody has kind of been in a state of shock over this. It’s not something you expect or want to happen. The department is kind of a big family ... and it’s nice to see everybody pulling together.”

According to police, two Candia officers reporting to the fire off Flint Road found Millspaugh, who lives nearby, in fire protective gear at the scene. Under questioning, Millspaugh allegedly told investigators that he could smell “the odor of burning plastic” shortly after coming home at about 12:15 a.m., and that he could see an “orange glow” coming from the woods.

Court documents state that there were early indicators that indicated the fire may have been arson, and the remains of what appeared to be a self-igniting road flare were found near one piece of burned equipment. Later that morning, investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s office investigated and determined the fires had probably been set intentionally.

An affidavit states that “Millspaugh had changed his account of how he found the fire” during a May 20 interview, and state investigators asked him to be honest about what had happened.

He allegedly then “provided a detailed confession” and admitted using road flares and rags to set the fires.

Officials said Millspaugh was in good standing as a firefighter at the time of his arrest and had no prior record. Shortly after the incident, Candia police said only one person appears to be involved and that the motive appeared to be the “excitement factor.”

Cartier said Millspaugh had a good record as an emergency responder. At only 16 years old, Millspaugh and Fire Explorer Jeff Gagnon tried to save the life of Candia resident Carolyn Carnright after her vehicle collided head-on with their school bus, and the two were later dubbed heroes for their attempt.

Millspaugh recalled the tragedy in a 2006 interview on the life-and-death risks faced by firefighters, and he said that responding to the scene of an injured friend, neighbor or fellow firefighter was one of the hardest aspects of the job. “But we are rescuers, and we get called to the scene to make things better,” he said, then age 19.

At the time, Millspaugh said he planned to pursue a career in firefighting, and praised in influence of Chief Cartier and the other experienced members of the department.

“Our chief (Rudy Cartier) is a really great guy, a huge influence, along with the rest of the department,” Millspaugh said. His hearing will continue on June 4.