Lajeunesse pleaded guilty to felony charges of burning down a building and conspiracy to burn a building, for his part in the arson of three vacant homes during the summer of 2010.
Dylan Lajeunesse of Holland was sentenced to serve three years probation and pay nearly $130,000 in restitution for his part in three fires set on June 15 and June 22 in Brimfield, and July 13 in Holland. (Republican Staff photo by Mark M. Murray) SPRINGFIELD - Dylan Lajeunesse, one of the five now former volunteer firefighters accused of setting a string of fires in Brimfield and Holland last summer, pleaded guilty in Hampden Superior Court on Wednesday.
According to a report by CBS-3, Lajeunesse pleaded guilty to felony charges of burning down a building and conspiracy to burn a building, for his part in the arson of three vacant homes during the summer of 2010.
The first of the eastern Hampden County fires was set on June 15 at 144 Paige Hill Road, Brimfield. The second was on June 22, at 151 Washington Road, Brimfield. The third was on July 13 at 6 Chandler Road, Holland. All three fires happened on Tuesdays and each were determined to have been set intentionally.
In September, Lajeunesse was arraigned along with 19-year-old Brian S. Findlay, of Ashford, Conn.; 18-year-old Jordan R. Frank, of West Brookfield; 19-year-old Patrick K. Elliott, of Charlton; and 20-year-old Donald C. Moores, of Brimfield. All five young men were charged with burning a building, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in state prison.
Findlay, Frank, Elliot and Moores belonged to the Brimfield Fire Department while Lajeunesse worked with the Holland Fire Department.
At his court appearance on Wednesday, Lajeunesse was sentenced to three years probation and to pay nearly $130,000 in restitution, as investigators initially said that each of the five men carried different degrees of responsibility in the situation.
Police reports and court documents obtained by The Republican and MassLive.com's Lori Stabile last fall revealed a disturbing set of accusations.
From left to right, Patrick Elliot 19 of Charlton, Donald Moores ,20 of Brimfield, Jordan Frank 18 of Brimfield, and Brian Findlay 18 of Ashford Ct., all are charged with with arson, stand during arraignment in Palmer District Court on Sept. 3, 2010. (Republican Staff photo by Mark M. Murray) An arrest report filed by the state police indicated that the friends set the fires to "look cool and go to fires," as they were tired of answering medical calls, which constitute a large number of the overall service calls for most fire departments.
Court records stated that on the night of the Holland fire, Findlay said, “We’re bored, we need a call.”
Findlay told state police that the night of the first fire on Paige Hill Road in Brimfield, Elliot was upset with his girlfriend, “and wanted to light something on fire.”
Elliot, who is accused of personally setting all three fires, according to previous reports, took a flammable mixture from the fire department and poured it through a window at the Washington Road house in Brimfield on June 22. Then the group went back to their respective vehicles and waited to be dispatched to battle the blaze.
"Firefighters as arsonists is not as uncommon as it should be," said State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan in a statement last September. "A firefighter accused of deliberately setting fires betrays the public’s trust and destroys the credibility of the fire service. It is also a betrayal of the trust firefighters need to place in one another to see that everyone goes home at the end of the day."
The other four young men facing charges will be returning to court in the coming months.