Bangor man may be tied to numerous area fires

A Bangor man facing three charges of arson may be connected to numerous other fires in the Greater Bangor area, according to a District Court affidavit.

The affidavit had been impounded for 10 days, but was released on Monday and suggests that 24-year-old Samuel Hartley might be a suspect in fires in Bangor, Hermon, Kenduskeag, Eddington, Dedham, Glenburn and Levant.

A list of 20 fires was attached to the affidavit, but Stu Jacobs of the state Fire Marshal’s Office said that some of the fires remain under investigation. The affidavit states that the suspicious fires are believed to be related based on the method of ignition, times of the fires and information developed during the investigation.

Hartley has been charged with three fires and his case is expected to be presented to the Penobscot County grand jury on Tuesday.

The list of fires begins with a hay fire on April 6, 1991, in Bangor and ends with a camp fire on Hermon Pond on Dec. 13.

The Fire Marshal’s Office has requested that the names of the witnesses contained in the affidavit be withheld for their safety.

Hartley has been charged with a fire that burned numerous bales of hay on Hammond Street; a fire that burned a barn on Route 9 in Eddington owned by Myron Grover and a fire that destroyed Ross’ Auto Parts beside the Hammond Street Campground in Hermon.

Officials have stated that Hartley could face additional charges as the multi-agency investigation continues.

The investigation was conducted by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Bangor Police Department and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and has been going on for about three months.

Hartley was arrested on Jan. 22 for an assault on a woman in Levant. After hearing of his arrest, members of the “informal task force” that had been established to investigate the fires decided to go forward with their complaints.

The affidavit suggests that Hartley might be responsible for a fire that destroyed two barns at 1101 Essex St. in Bangor. The fire, on Oct. 22 on property owned by Michael and Mark Walsh, was intentionally set with an accelerant, the affidavit states.

Hartley reportedly was seen in the driveway of a chicken barn on Union Street in Hermon that burned on Nov. 19. It was determined that the fire was arson and a person familiar with Hartley told authorities that Hartley admitted setting it.

A witness interviewed during the investigation implicated Hartley in a burglary and a fire at a cottage on Little Pushaw Pond in Hudson between Nov. 12 and 19.

The motive for the fire was not clear, but a witness stated that the camp belonged to friends of Hartley’s brother.

Hartley allegedly was seen at parties in Hermon and Levant on nights that fires broke out in those towns. On Nov. 24, a vacant house burned in Levant village and one witness said Hartley had been at a party at a nearby house and disappeared for about a half an hour. Shortly after he returned to the party fire trucks were seen responding, the witness said.

On Nov. 30, Hartley was reportedly at a party on the Fuller Road in Hermon about a half mile from a fire that broke out that night at an old school building. Witnesses told investigators that Hartley disappeared from the party for a half an hour and was agitated when he returned.

Another witness reportedly told authorities that Hartley allegedly burned Ross’ Auto Parts in Hermon, because Danny Ross had “held him during a fight at a party.”

A fire that occurred on Dec. 13 at a camp on Hermon Pond was intentionally set, according to investigators, and neighbors reported seeing a truck similar to Hartley’s parked near the camp. The affidavit states that Hartly used to date the campowner’s daughter.

Investigators also are looking into a connection between Hartley and a fire in November at a camp on Green Lake in Dedham and a fire that damaged a Linden Street home in Bangor.

As part of the investigation, Jacobs said a complete case file would be compiled and sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s behavioral science unit which compiles arsonist profiles.