A Cornville man was sentenced to at least four years in prison Thursday after helping pour gasoline onto a Waterville duplex before setting it on fire in 2023.

Aaron Pelotte, 27, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but four years suspended, and four years of probation for his role in igniting a blaze Jan. 29, 2023, at 10 and 12 Moody St. in Waterville.

Aaron Pelotte Kennebec County Correctional Facility photo

The fire was set by Pelotte and Devon J. Pomelow, 24, of Benton in an effort to cause problems between one of the tenants and Pelotte’s then-estranged wife, who was apparently seeing the tenant at the time, according to an affidavit filed by Kenneth MacMaster, senior investigator for the Office of State Fire Marshal.

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.

Though the man was not home at the time of the fire, five other people were home, including two men at 10 Moody St. and a couple and their infant daughter at 12 Moody St., according to officials.

Pelotte and Pomelow were arrested in March 2023 after an investigation by state and local fire officials, according to State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler.

Devon J. Pomelow Kennebec County Correctional Facility photo

“It was determined the fire originated on the exterior of one side of the duplex, with gasoline used as an accelerant,” Esler wrote Thursday in an announcement to the news media. “Maine State Police Crime Laboratory confirmed the presence of gasoline. The Fire Marshal’s Office initiated an extensive investigation.”

The Waterville Fire Department, Waterville Police Department, Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office aided in the investigation, Esler said.

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

Pomelow was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September on a charge of arson, with all but nine months suspended, and four years of probation.

Before the arson, Pelotte and Pomelow parked a car at a corner of Moody Street and walked to the front corner of 10 Moody St., according to the affidavit filed by MacMaster. 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.

The tenants told firefighters they heard a loud noise 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.

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 major fire and endangered the occupants’ lives.