Dec. 28--PROVINCETOWN -- In last days of October, police rushed to pull together their case to get an arrest warrant for James Kevin Stinson, the man accused of setting multiple fires that terrified Provincetown residents in 2007 and 2008.
But the police were too late.
On Dec. 9, Orleans District Judge Brian Merrick dismissed five of the six counts of arson against Stinson, who was arrested on Nov. 1 for setting six fires in the fall of 2007.
The judge dismissed five of the six counts because the statute of limitations had expired by a few days or in some cases by just one day.
In their arrest warrant request, Provincetown police linked Stinson, 55, of 90 Shank Painter Road, to six of about 20 arson fires that plagued Provincetown in 2007 and 2008.
Their evidence allegedly connected him to two fires on Oct. 26, 2007: one at the West End Racing Club and the other at 98 Bayberry Ave. It also linked him to three fires set on Oct. 31, 2007, at 10 Bradford St., 473 Commercial St., and 2 Commercial St.
The police also connected him to a sixth fire at a residence at 9 Oppen Lane on Nov. 2, 2007.
But as his former attorney, Joseph McParland, of Harwich Port, stated, the six-year statute of limitations had expired on five of the counts by the time the police made their arrest.
"The six-year statute of limitations tolled before the complaint issued," McParland wrote in his motion asking for dismissal.
The fire that destroyed the $2.3 million hilltop home at 9 Oppen Lane occurred on Nov. 2, 2007. Merrick did not dismiss that charge.
A joint task force including the state fire marshal's office, Provincetown police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was formed to help solve the crimes. And in 2011, a retired arson investigator was hired to begin a separate investigation into the fires.
Suspicious P'town fires 2007-2008. Arson charges against James Kevin Stinson dismissed (red pin locations), arson charge against Stinson remains (yellow location):
"It was a cold case, and we picked it up and did everything we could with the time frame we had," said Provincetown police Detective Meredith Lobur.
Stinson, a landscaper, became a suspect in spring 2008 when "a party known to investigators" told police that Stinson appeared at her door at about 10:50 p.m. He seemed extremely intoxicated and despondent, the woman told police.
Although she knew Stinson socially, she refused to let him into her house, the report stated.
Stinson told her repeatedly that he 'was the arsonist,'" the police report states.
About 10 minutes later on the same night, police received a call about a suspicious-looking white man at a dumpster in the area of Carver and Cudworth streets. The man "appeared to be holding a bottle with a rag stuffed into the top," the report states.
A witness described the man as about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with gray hair, balding on top, wearing blue jeans and a blue denim top. The man fled before the police could catch him.
Stinson is a 6-foot-tall white male with gray hair, according to court documents.
There were no additional arson fires after the night Stinson made the alleged confession to his friend, court documents state.
Police questioned Stinson in 2008. At that time, he refused to take a polygraph test, according to court records.
Then, on Oct. 26, 2013, police had a key interview with Stinson's longtime boyfriend, Tony Johnson, a massage therapist in Provincetown. Stinson was arrested six days later.
Johnson and Stinson have been in a relationship for more than 20 years, according to court records. Police showed Johnson evidence collected from the fire scenes, including an FBI photograph of a shoe sole imprint found at the beach after an Oct. 26, 2007, fire at the West End Racing Club.
"Johnson stared at the photograph and then exclaimed, 'That's Kevin's shoe,'" court records stated.
Stinson is referred to by his middle name, court papers state.
The interview with Johnson happened the day the six-year statute of limitations was reached for the Oct. 26 fires.
Police then pushed to pull together enough probable cause to get an arrest warrant.
They got the arrest warrant approved on Oct. 31 and hoped it would fall within the statute of limitations for the Halloween fires, Lobur said.
But the judge ruled otherwise.
Stinson is due back in court on Jan. 24, according to court records.
Neither Stinson or Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe could be reached for comment.
Police hope they can uncover more evidence for the approximately seven other arson fires that took place after Nov. 2, Lobur said.
Members of the public are encouraged to bring forward observations related to these fires to the police or the state fire marshal's office.
"This is an ongoing investigation," she said. "We're continuing to follow the evidence."
The fires terrified residents and exhausted the volunteer Fire Department in the course of nearly one year.
"If someone is guilty, we do hope they are caught," said Provincetown Fire Chief Michael Trovato.
"All we can do is our best to put the fires out."
Copyright 2013 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
