Aug. 5—A Glenburn man accused of setting his Pushaw Road house ablaze last week allegedly left his homeowners' insurance policy on the living room floor, which investigators found as they looked into whether the fire was accidental or intentional.
Colby Gilgan, 37, was charged with arson, a Class A crime, on Monday, according to the Penobscot County District Attorney's office.
He remained at the Penobscot County Jail on Thursday unable to post $10,000 cash bail.
No one was injured in the fire, but Gilgan and a tenant were displaced.
He also is charged with criminal trespass, a Class D crime, creating a police standoff and violation of a condition of release, both Class E crimes. Those charges are unrelated to the fire.
Gilgan allegedly set a fire in his bedroom, then called 911 at about 7:30 p.m. on July 29, according to the complaint filed by the state fire marshal's office. When Glenburn firefighters arrived at 986 Pushaw Road, they found that his neighbor, who is a firefighter, had used a garden hose "to help slow the fire" until fire trucks arrived.
The fire damage was contained mostly to the bedroom, but the home sustained substantial damage as a result of the blaze, the complaint said. Gilgan allegedly told the fire investigator that he had been burning a candle while watching the television show "Ozark" and fell asleep.
"Gilgan said that when he woke up, the curtain was on fire, which spread to the contents of the room," the complaint said.
Inside the home, the investigator found copies of Gilgan's mortgage statements and his homeowners insurance policy on the living room floor. The investigator initially suspected the fire started accidentally but concluded it was intentionally set after Gilgan's father contacted the fire marshal's office to share text messages from Gilgan in which he said he intended to set his house on fire.
Gilgan was out on bail for a July 27 criminal trespass arrest at the apartment of a tenant on his property when he allegedly set the blaze.
After the fire, on Sunday, Gilgan was staying at a Bangor motel when management called the police asking that he be removed from the premises for being disruptive.
When officers arrived, Gilgan sounded intoxicated and refused to come out of his room, according to Sgt. Jason McAmbley of the Bangor police. The officers left after they heard snoring through the door.
Under Maine law, refusing to come out of a place when ordered to by police is grounds for charging someone with creating a police standoff.
Officers returned the next day, on Monday, and arrested Gilgan on that charge and for allegedly violating his bail on the criminal trespass charge, McAmbley said. Gilgan was charged with arson while at the Penobscot County Jail.
Gilgan is next due in court on Oct. 20.
If convicted of arson, Gilgan faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. On the Class D criminal trespass charge, Gilgan faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. The maximum sentence for a Class E crime is up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
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