One of three men charged with arson for allegedly burning a Waldoboro boathouse containing a 36-foot lobster boat in 2012 pleaded guilty in Lincoln County Superior Court Oct. 1.
Jeffrey Luce, 37, of Whitefield, pleaded guilty to one count of class A arson and to approximately 12 other charges from unrelated cases, according to court documents. Charges of theft by unauthorized taking and escape, stemming from a 2014 incident involving stolen batteries, were dismissed, in addition to a second count of class A arson.
Luce’s 2014 arrest for allegedly stealing batteries from Barlett’s Auto Sales led to a break in the arson investigation, which had languished for two years with no arrests.
Sentencing for the class A arson charge was continued so Luce could testify against his co-defendants, Frederick Campbell, 31, and James Simmons, 40, both of Friendship, District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said.
Campbell and Simmons have been charged with two counts of class A arson each.
“This is certainly a step forward (in the case) but it’s not the end,” Rushlau said. The district attorney’s office is in the process of appealing the superior court’s July 6 ruling that phone records obtained as part of the arson investigation were taken without probable cause.
The appeal will be heard by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court which will delay the cases against Campbell and James Simmons, Rushlau said.
A dispute between two commercial fishermen is believed to be behind the June 21, 2012 arson that destroyed the Waldoboro boathouse of Donald Simmons. Donald Simmons and James Simmons, no relation, were involved in an ongoing feud that involved hundreds of cut lobster trap lines, according to State Fire Marshal’s Office investigator Kenneth MacMaster.
On June 10, 2012, arson destroyed two structures owned by James Simmons in Friendship, which James Simmons used for his commercial fishing business, MacMaster wrote in an affidavit.
James Simmons accused Donald Simmons of setting the fires, according to the affidavit. Less than two weeks later, arson destroyed Donald Simmons’ boathouse and the 36-foot lobster boat.
The lobster boat was the property of a paraplegic man who hoped to take it out for a fishing trip after he was released from a long-term care facility, according to the affidavit. The boat had no insurance.
James Simmons and his sternmen, Luce and Campbell, were the primary suspects in the June 21, 2012 arson. Law enforcement officials, however, were unable to press charges due to lack of evidence.
Approximately two years later, law enforcement officials were able to gather enough evidence to support the indictment of James Simmons, Luce, and Campbell on the felony arson charges.
On May 20, 2014, Luce was arrested for allegedly stealing several batteries from Barlett’s Auto Sales and selling them to a redemption center in Jefferson. After admitting to the theft, Luce allegedly led police on a 1 1/2-mile chase through the woods.
Following his arrest, Luce and his wife, Naomi Luce, gave statements to law enforcement about the 2012 arson, according to MacMaster’s affidavit. Due to Jeffrey and Naomi Luce’s statements, evidence on the Luce’s property connecting James Simmons and Campbell to the arson was recovered.
Luce, James Simmons, and Campbell were indicted for the arson in September 2014.
Since 2012, Luce has racked up approximately 17 additional, unrelated charges. Luce resolved those cases on Oct. 1. Luce pleaded guilty to theft by unauthorized taking and forgery, both class C felonies, for obtaining blank checks from an individual and using them.
He was sentenced to four years and six months, with all but 60 days suspended and two years probation. Luce was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,587 to the victim.
Luce also pleaded guilty to theft by deception, a class D misdemeanor, for accepting money from the same victim to make repairs to the victim’s home that were never made and to purchase a stove that was never purchased. He was sentenced to 90 days and ordered to pay the victim $1,149 in restitution.
Luce also pleaded guilty to theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, a class C felony; misuse of identification and violation of a protection order, both class D misdemeanors; and two counts of violation of condition of release, class E misdemeanors, for obtaining and using a relative’s debit card.
He was sentenced to five years with all but eight months suspended for theft by unauthorized taking, eight months for misuse of identification and violation of a protection order, and six months for violation of condition of release, to be served concurrently, as well as two years of probation. He was ordered to pay $438.22 in restitution to the victim.
Luce also pleaded guilty to three additional violation of condition of release charges and one additional violation of a protection order.
Rushlau took over Luce’s cases only a couple of months ago, he said. “It was pretty complicated,” Rushlau said. “In the end I hope we came up with a resolution that will help him get straightened out.”
