Maine man guilty of arson at topless coffee shop
<!-- yog-5u -->AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) ? A man blamed for a fire that destroyed a coffee shop where topless waitresses worked has been found guilty of arson.
A jury convicted Raymond Bellavance Jr. on Friday after deliberating for four hours.
Prosecutors said "anger and jealousy" caused Bellavance to set fire to the coffee shop, where his ex-girlfriend worked as a waitress. Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley told jurors Bellavance was "a volatile man" who was quick to anger because his former girlfriend was having a relationship with the shop's owner, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The Grand View Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, a town of about 4,000 residents just north of the state capital, Augusta, burned down June 3, 2009.
The defense insisted Bellavance didn't do it.
Bellavance testified he wasn't jealous. He said other people, including a man who testified he helped set the fire, were lying.
A witness who recently finished a drug rehabilitation program testified last week that he was present when Bellavance poured and ignited gasoline behind the coffee shop in the early morning hours. Thomas Mulkern said Bellavance then became upset, telling him they could get life in prison because there were people inside the adjoining apartments.
Coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree and six other people, including two infants, were sleeping in a room connected to the shop. All escaped without injury.
VASSALBORO FIRE
April 8, 2010
Ex-girlfriend says news about suspect shocks her
By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
VASSALBORO -- Krista MacIntyre, 29, of Augusta, learned Saturday that authorities were searching for her ex-boyfriend because he was an arson suspect.
click image to enlarge
Krista MacIntyre
After a 10-month-long investigation by the state Fire Marshal's Office, a warrant was issued this week for Raymond J. Bellavance Jr., 49, for allegedly setting the fire that destroyed the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in June 2009.
MacIntyre confirmed Wednesday that she is the coffee shop employee to whom authorities referred in a news release that said the suspect "was a boyfriend of one of the waitresses."
For MacIntyre, it's been a sensitive revelation about a man she dated for about two months, but had separated from before starting at the coffee shop.
"It's a shock to me, really; I don't know what to say about it," she said. "I'm kind of speechless. I have been very emotional the last few days, because it's hard for me to deal with something like that."
Bellavance, she said, "never struck me to be that type. I didn't think he was a jealous type."
Coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree said this week that he met Bellavance once after the shop opened and that the man wanted MacIntyre to be fired, accusing her of illegal activity. Bellavance threatened to have the coffee shop "shut down" if she wasn't fired, Crabtree said.
Crabtree said the accusations weren't true, so MacIntyre kept her job. MacIntyre corroborated Crabtree's account of that exchange.
As authorities continue to hunt for Bellavance, MacIntyre has shed additional light on what led to the early morning hours of June 3 when the fire was set.
For instance, MacIntyre said she has been in a relationship "on and off for about a year" with Crabtree, the shop owner, and that she told Bellavance as much some time before the fire took place. Crabtree on Wednesday disputed MacIntyre's claim of a relationship, saying they would only "hang out" or go out to dinner sometimes.
The topless coffee shop drew worldwide media attention after it opened Feb. 23, 2009.
Following Bellavance's attempt to get her fired, MacIntyre said she started to seek a court protection order against him, though it was never finalized, because she missed a court hearing. MacIntyre said she never had any further problems with Bellavance.
MacIntyre also said she saw Bellavance at a store in Augusta the night of the fire, though they didn't speak to each other, she said. She declined to say specifically where she saw him. She said she has seen him around since the fire from time to time, but had no idea where he might be now.
MacIntyre said she's not sure why Bellavance allegedly would commit arson.
"Maybe because I was getting ahead and I had bought my own car," MacIntyre said. "I was independent, and maybe he didn't like that."
I don't want to see her TOPLESS.
:scared
PITY REALLY
JMO
<!-- yog-5u -->AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) ? A man blamed for a fire that destroyed a coffee shop where topless waitresses worked has been found guilty of arson.
A jury convicted Raymond Bellavance Jr. on Friday after deliberating for four hours.
Prosecutors said "anger and jealousy" caused Bellavance to set fire to the coffee shop, where his ex-girlfriend worked as a waitress. Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley told jurors Bellavance was "a volatile man" who was quick to anger because his former girlfriend was having a relationship with the shop's owner, the Bangor Daily News reported.
The Grand View Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, a town of about 4,000 residents just north of the state capital, Augusta, burned down June 3, 2009.
The defense insisted Bellavance didn't do it.
Bellavance testified he wasn't jealous. He said other people, including a man who testified he helped set the fire, were lying.
A witness who recently finished a drug rehabilitation program testified last week that he was present when Bellavance poured and ignited gasoline behind the coffee shop in the early morning hours. Thomas Mulkern said Bellavance then became upset, telling him they could get life in prison because there were people inside the adjoining apartments.
Coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree and six other people, including two infants, were sleeping in a room connected to the shop. All escaped without injury.
VASSALBORO FIRE
April 8, 2010
Ex-girlfriend says news about suspect shocks her
By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
VASSALBORO -- Krista MacIntyre, 29, of Augusta, learned Saturday that authorities were searching for her ex-boyfriend because he was an arson suspect.
Krista MacIntyre
Maine Today Photo Store
After a 10-month-long investigation by the state Fire Marshal's Office, a warrant was issued this week for Raymond J. Bellavance Jr., 49, for allegedly setting the fire that destroyed the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in June 2009.
MacIntyre confirmed Wednesday that she is the coffee shop employee to whom authorities referred in a news release that said the suspect "was a boyfriend of one of the waitresses."
For MacIntyre, it's been a sensitive revelation about a man she dated for about two months, but had separated from before starting at the coffee shop.
"It's a shock to me, really; I don't know what to say about it," she said. "I'm kind of speechless. I have been very emotional the last few days, because it's hard for me to deal with something like that."
Bellavance, she said, "never struck me to be that type. I didn't think he was a jealous type."
Coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree said this week that he met Bellavance once after the shop opened and that the man wanted MacIntyre to be fired, accusing her of illegal activity. Bellavance threatened to have the coffee shop "shut down" if she wasn't fired, Crabtree said.
Crabtree said the accusations weren't true, so MacIntyre kept her job. MacIntyre corroborated Crabtree's account of that exchange.
As authorities continue to hunt for Bellavance, MacIntyre has shed additional light on what led to the early morning hours of June 3 when the fire was set.
For instance, MacIntyre said she has been in a relationship "on and off for about a year" with Crabtree, the shop owner, and that she told Bellavance as much some time before the fire took place. Crabtree on Wednesday disputed MacIntyre's claim of a relationship, saying they would only "hang out" or go out to dinner sometimes.
The topless coffee shop drew worldwide media attention after it opened Feb. 23, 2009.
Following Bellavance's attempt to get her fired, MacIntyre said she started to seek a court protection order against him, though it was never finalized, because she missed a court hearing. MacIntyre said she never had any further problems with Bellavance.
MacIntyre also said she saw Bellavance at a store in Augusta the night of the fire, though they didn't speak to each other, she said. She declined to say specifically where she saw him. She said she has seen him around since the fire from time to time, but had no idea where he might be now.
MacIntyre said she's not sure why Bellavance allegedly would commit arson.
"Maybe because I was getting ahead and I had bought my own car," MacIntyre said. "I was independent, and maybe he didn't like that."
I don't want to see her TOPLESS.
:scared
PITY REALLY
JMO
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