FARMINGTON – Two of the four men accused of breaking into three local convenience stores recently pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court, with one of them also admitting to setting fires that destroyed property in Wilton and Carthage.
Duane Bailey, 28 of Carver, Mass., pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, all Class C felonies, and two counts of misdemeanor theft last week. In a separate case, he also pleaded guilty to two counts of arson, with two other arson counts and one count of criminal conspiracy dismissed. In another separate case, a misdemeanor charge of violating the conditions of his release was also dismissed.
Einer Bonilla, 22 of Grand Island, Neb., pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, all Class C felonies, and two counts of misdemeanor theft.
Sentencing will await the resolution of all charges that the four co-defendants have been accused of.
Bailey and Bonilla pleaded guilty to charges that relate to a series of break-ins that occurred last summer. Maine State Police and Jay police responded to reported burglaries at three local-area convenience stores in the early morning hours of July 1, 2015. Our Village Market in New Vineyard, My Dad’s Place in Jay and Skoolhouse Variety in Weld were all forcibly entered through the front door, with the perpetrators taking alcohol and tobacco products from the latter two establishments.
Upon receiving information from members of law enforcement and the public after images captured by video surveillance cameras were released to the media, troopers arrested Bailey, Bonilla and two other men: D’Kota Rowe, 21 of Wilton, and Devon Pease, 23 of Jay.
Bailey pleaded guilty to arson charges that stem from a State Fire Marshal’s Office investigation into fires that destroyed two structures last summer: a double-wide residence on Sewall Street in Wilton and a log-style cabin on the Winter Hill Road in Carthage. Investigators believe that all four men were involved with the first fire, on June 27, while Bailey, Bonilla and Rowe were involved with the second.
According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Wilton fire was set after barking dogs prevented the defendants from burning a Wilton Main Street residence that belonged to a man with whom some of the defendants had a perceived feud with. That allegedly led them to burn down a nearby house on Sewall Street in a bid to have the fire spread onto the Main Street resident’s property.
The Main Street property was home to eight adults and five children at the time, according to investigators. Given the large number of people in the residence, State Fire Marshal’s Office Sgt. Kenneth Grimes said last summer, a fire at that location could have been “catastrophic.”
According to interviews with Rowe, Bailey and Pease, investigators say, the Jay man was dropped off prior to second fire. That fire, which occurred at a Carthage camp owned by a Mexico family later that evening, was set after the men reportedly stopped on the Winter Hill Road.
Both fires were allegedly set using gasoline.
Bailey, Rowe and Pease were indicted the arson and convenience store burglaries on Aug. 20, 2015 by the Franklin County grand jury. Bonilla was indicted on the burglaries on Aug. 20, 2015, and on four counts of arson and one count of criminal conspiracy on March 4.
Rowe and Pease have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Those cases, as well as Bonilla’s arson charges, are still awaiting resolution.
I sure hope there isn’t a bunch of plea bargaining going on. They need to pay for the damages they caused.
These idiots cant even pay for themselves to get a happy meal.
The 2nd pic down…Guy is smirking, Really? Stupid is as Stupid does…