AUGUSTA — A Benton man has been sentenced to serve nine months in prison for helping another man pour gasoline onto a Waterville duplex occupied by five people and set it on fire.

Devon J. Pomelow

Devon J. Pomelow, 24, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on a charge of arson, with all but nine months suspended, and four years of probation. If he complies with the terms of his probation, he would serve nine months in the custody of the Maine Department of Corrections. If he violates probation, he could serve the entire 10-year sentence.

The fire was set by Pomelow and Aaron Pelotte, 27, of Cornville in an effort to cause problems between one of the tenants and the then-estranged wife of Pelotte, who was apparently seeing the tenant at the time, and get her to come back to him, according to an affidavit filed by Kenneth MacMaster, senior investigator for the Office of State Fire Marshal. The man was not home at the time of the fire.

An occupant of 10 Moody St., a duplex that also includes 12 Moody St., saw the fire and used a fire extinguisher to control the flames until firefighters arrived.

Pomelow was also given a 30-day sentence, to be served at the same time as his arson sentence, on a charge of criminal mischief in Waterville for damaging the tires Jan. 22, 2023, on a vehicle owned by the same man who was apparently targeted in the attempted duplex fire.

Aaron Pelotte

Pelotte, a co-defendant in the case, is scheduled to be sentenced on the same charges next month, according to prosecutor Frank Griffin, deputy district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties.

Pelotte pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief in July, according to Maeghan Maloney, the district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties.

According to the affidavit filed by MacMaster, Pelotte and Pomelow parked a car Jan. 29, 2023, at a corner of Moody Street and walked to the front corner of 10 Moody St. They were carrying a gasoline container, which was recorded by a surveillance camera. They poured gasoline onto the exterior of 10 Moody St., in the area of the electrical and cable service drops.

“Ignitable liquid was then ignited, causing a large flash fire, again captured by surveillance camera footage,” MacMaster wrote.

At about 10:30 p.m., five people were inside the Moody Street duplex, including two men at 10 Moody St. and a couple and their infant daughter at 12 Moody St., according to officials.

Pomelow’s probation conditions stipulate he not use or possess firearms or dangerous weapons, not possess incendiary devices, not have contact with any of his victims and undergo counseling as directed by his probation officer.

Pomelow, who had previously pleaded guilty, was taken into custody at court Wednesday to begin his sentence, hugging a crying woman who was with him before he was placed into handcuffs and led out of the courtroom by a court officer.

MacMaster wrote that were it not for the actions of the 10 Moody St. occupants who saw the fire and kept it under control, the flames could have progressed into a full structure fire and endangered the lives of the duplex’s five occupants.

The tenants told firefighters they heard a boom and went outside to investigate, seeing the fire spreading halfway up a wall. They said they immediately used a fire extinguisher to suppress the flames.

Firefighters said they noted the odor of gasoline near the fire debris.