A Somerset County jury found Neil T. Maclean, 64, guilty June 17 of attempted murder and arson. He was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison. Maclean was arrested in October 2022 after he tried to set fire to his apartment at 36 High St. in Skowhegan, shown above. At the time, he was reportedly suffering from mental health issues, and told investigators he was trying to kill himself, his wife and others. Jake Freudberg/Morning Sentinel

SKOWHEGAN — A 64-year-old Skowhegan man was sentenced Friday to serve at least 15 years in prison following a conviction of attempted murder and arson.

Neil T. Maclean Somerset County Jail photo

At a hearing in the Somerset County Superior Courthouse in Skowhegan, District Court Judge Andrew Benson sentenced Neil Maclean to 25 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, with all but 15 years suspended and four years of probation.

Benson also sentenced Maclean to 15 years each for two counts of arson, which will run concurrent with the more severe attempted murder charge. All three counts are Class A felonies.

“This is far from a perfect sentence,” Benson said in handing down the punishment. “And I recognize and I’m sorry for the fact that Mr. Maclean may not survive his time in custody. I do understand that. … It is a sentence I believe I am required to impose.”

Maclean was arrested following the investigation of a fire at his 36 High St. apartment during the early morning hours on Oct. 30, 2022. A Somerset County grand jury indicted him in February 2023.

During his June trial, which lasted one day, prosecutors presented evidence that Maclean was trying to kill himself, his wife and the other residents of the building by intentionally setting the fire in his bedroom. Nobody was injured in the fire, though there was damage to parts of the building, investigators said.

Maclean’s defense attorneys, meanwhile, focused on his mental health challenges, arguing that he only intended to kill himself.

At the sentencing hearing Friday, Timothy Snyder, first assistant district attorney for Somerset County, said that depression and other mental health conditions do not excuse criminal behavior.

“While he might have depression, it’s also clear that Mr. Maclean is narcissistic and violent,” Snyder said. “He’s demonstrated that consistently by assaulting his wife, by threatening his wife, and by attempting to kill both him and her by lighting them both on fire.”

Snyder asked Benson to impose a sentence of 23 years, with all but 18 years suspended, to be followed by a period of probation. Maclean did not change his behavior after previous sentences, Snyder said.

“For 20 years, the criminal justice system has been lenient with him, giving him opportunities on probation,” Snyder said. “And for 20 years, the defendant has just continued to drink and be abusive.”

The state’s proposed sentence was more severe than a plea agreement prosecutors offered previously. Ahead of the trial, Maclean turned down a deal that would have dismissed the attempted murder charge. The sentence offered in the deal was nine years in prison, with all but six suspended, and four years of probation, according to statements made in court then.

Kayla Alves, one of the attorneys representing Maclean, asked Benson on Friday for 12 years, with all but 21 months suspended — the time Maclean has already served — and four years of probation.

“This case, from our perspective, is really just a heartbreaking case,” Alves said. “It’s not a case that is heartless as the state has described. … This case is really about a mental health issue.”

Maclean’s wife briefly addressed the court before attorneys on both sides presented their arguments, asking Benson to impose the least severe sentence possible.

“He does not deserve to be locked up and the key thrown away,” she said. “He has a heart of gold. He has mental illness. I would like him getting help with mental illness.”

More than a dozen family members and friends filled the rows in the gallery behind Maclean, though none addressed the court directly. Alves, the defense attorney, read statements from two of Maclean’s daughters, who wrote about their father’s loving role in their family and his mental health challenges.

Maclean, who was emotional at times during the hearing, also spoke briefly. He told Benson that he has been receiving treatment for several diagnosed mental health conditions.

Benson said he considered several factors in crafting his sentence, including Maclean’s mental health, though he considered Maclean’s actions to be serious in nature. He also weighed the impact of previous sentences Maclean served, many of which were split sentences that included prison and probation.

“This is a strange case. In many ways, it is an inexplicable case,” Benson said. “But the conduct is very serious.”

Maclean was being held at the Somerset County Jail in Madison and is set to serve his sentence at a state Department of Corrections facility.