Feb. 07--There have been no arsons in Southeastern Massachusetts since two Middleboro men were charged with setting a West Bridgewater fire last week, a state trooper testified yesterday at a dangerousness hearing for the father and stepson.
"The incendiary fires have stopped" since the arrests of Mark Sargent, 45, and his stepson Jeanmarie Louis, 23, state police trooper Michael J. Peters said.
The Brockton District Court hearing, to determine if Sargent and Louis should be held without bail until trial, is to continue today. Peters and trooper Eric D. Desrochers, who investigated an arson spree that rocked the southeastern part of the state last fall, both testified yesterday.
Prosecutors say Sargent and Louis may be linked to 24 arsons since last fall.
"They were all aided by a fire-starter log and gasoline," Desrochers said about the blazes that injured six firefighters.
On Dec. 19, when fires were set at a Scituate home and Marshfield marina, police found Sargent parked in a car at about 2 a.m. with a clear view of the Marshfield blaze, Peters said.
"He told us he was just driving around," Peters said. "At that point, fires were being set almost nightly."
Police put a GPS tracker on Sargent's car, which let them place the vehicle at last week's fire, the troopers said.
Lawyers for Sargent and Louis stressed the men are only charged with setting the West Bridgewater fire.
"We are here for one fire, in one town, on one day," Sargent's lawyer Jason Howard said.
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