The owner of an apartment building in Augusta has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges stemming from a fire that resulted in the death of one elderly man during Memorial Day weekend, as reported by the Kennebec Journal.
If R.C., the owner of the building, complies with conditions – adding in safe exits and a secondary egress – all of the charges will be dropped and he can withdraw his guilty plea. Walter McKee, R.C.'s attorney, said, "So long as Mr. (R.C.) does what he's supposed to do, the charges will be dismissed."
The charges against R.C. are as follows: one count of failure to provide adequate means of egress and nine counts of failure to provide adequate secondary means of escape. Investigator Kenneth MacMaster, with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, filed the charges. Other violations that included the improper installation of smoke detectors – in the dead man's unit – were later dismissed when R.C. entered his guilty plea.
A passerby had pulled J.M., 62, from the first floor via a burning window. J.M. later died on June 6 in Portland's Maine Medical Center. Assistant District Attorney Kristin Murray-James commented, "The very unfortunate death of Mr. (J.M.) was not caused by the deficiencies, according to the investigators." Murray-James also noted that J.M.'s first floor apartment had two safe ways to exit.
The apartment building, located on Pleasant Street, houses 14 occupants in eight units. Two days prior to the fire J.M. had telephoned city personnel to request that his unit be inspected. The fire, started by a stove or toaster oven in J.M.'s apartment, was located toward the front of the building. That section has since been torn down and the remaining walls are now being rebuilt.
R.C. has until November 1, 2014, to comply with the conditions – and notify the Kennebec County District Attorney's Office that he has – that include abiding by the Life Safety Code requirements and those set by the fire marshal's office. R.C. must also pay the American Red Cross a donation of $1,000.
Murray-James worked alongside MacMaster to work out the details of the conditions, including the donation to the Red Cross. Murray-James commented, "Cases like this sometimes end up with just fines. That's not going to require (R.C.) to do anything differently. If he was going to rent out what's left of the property, he would have to abide by these certain conditions."
McKee added, "None of those alleged violations had anything to do with the death of the occupant. It was only upon the fire marshal's inspection of the building in connection with the fire that they found the deficiencies."
Contact a criminal defense attorney right away if you are facing one or more criminal charges. Only a qualified and experienced attorney can help you in court and in entering your plea.
