By David Hench
Portland Press Herald
PORTLAND, Maine — The man who burned down an office building in Yarmouth and badly damaged one in York will spend the next 11 years in federal prison.
Everett Stickney, 30, of Eliot, Maine, and Exeter, N.H., caused more than $3.7 million worth of damage and threw dozens of people into financial and emotional turmoil, from which some may never fully recover.
U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby sent Stickney to prison and ordered him to pay $3.7 million in restitution to 27 victims and 14 insurance companies, though it was clear to victims who attended Thursday’s sentencing that there is no chance they will get even a fraction of what they lost.
''What this exercise did for us is, hopefully, bring it to a conclusion, more so than what the severity of the sentencing was,’' said Arthur Dyer, a retired basketball coach who owned the Yarmouth office building with his wife, Elizabeth.
The couple lost more than $800,000 beyond what insurance covered, according to Hornby, and depended on the income from the building to fund their retirement.
Stickney, who pleaded guilty in June to the two counts of arson, told the judge that he accepts responsibility for crimes. He said his actions were results of mental illness and drug addiction.
''I am an addict and I have been addicted to narcotic drugs for a long time,’' he said, his voice choking with emotion. ''I do feel very badly it destroyed so many hopes and dreams by putting so many people out of work during this recession.’'
Stickney appeared in federal court wearing a beige inmate uniform from the Strafford County Jail in New Hampshire, where he is being held.
Court papers show that on Jan. 2, Stickney broke into businesses at 500 Route 1 in Yarmouth, then set fire to the three-story building to cover up the crime. He did the same thing the next night at the Cottage Place Business Complex on Route 1 in York.
''He was basically a one-man crime spree in various places in Maine over a two-day period,’' Hornby said.
Stickney broke into three other businesses in Maine and stole a .45-caliber pistol from a doctor’s office in New Hampshire, for which he was charged with — and pleaded guilty to — being a felon in possession of a gun.
A black vinyl bag from the office building in Yarmouth was found near the scene of another burglary in Yarmouth, near a cigarette butt and a crowbar. Investigators used trace evidence from those items to link Stickney to the blaze.
They also tracked his movements with cell phone and hotel records, and security video that showed Stickney’s black Volkswagen Golf at the scene of several of the break-ins.
He was arrested on March 15 in Portsmouth, N.H., as he allegedly tried to break into a shed.
Hornby gave Stickney credit for admitting to the crimes when he was arrested and pleading guilty. He also noted that nobody was injured in either of the fires, though he said that was only by incredible good fortune.
The judge said the punishment was severe because the fires were set to cover up other crimes and because the gun was stolen and possessed in the commission of another felony.
Also, Stickney had an extensive criminal record, with convictions for drug possession, theft, arson to a vehicle, criminal mischief and forgery.
''This calls out for a severe sentence both as a matter of punishment, as a matter of deterring (similar activity) and a matter of protecting the public from future crimes from the defendant,’' Hornby said.
Stickney’s lawyer, Carol Sipperly, asked that Stickney be sent to a federal prison where he could be treated for mental illness and drug addiction.
Hornby recommended that he be put in a prison that offers such services. He also ordered him to get treatment once he is released, while he is serving three years of probation.
Arthur Dyer said he and his wife have not decided whether to rebuild. He said they have no experience as developers and rebuilding in the current economy is daunting. The past 10 months have taken a toll, they said.
They take some comfort in knowing their 26 commercial tenants found new locations and began rebuilding their businesses.
Hornby read a list of the 26 business owners and 14 insurance companies that are owed money by Stickney, ranging from several hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands. The Dyers are owed $828,000.
Elizabeth Dyer said they had insurance but learned that it doesn’t cover everything.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark said the uninsured losses from the fire totaled $1 million and the damage didn’t stop there.
''The trauma suffered in the victims’ personal lives is often greater than the value of the property loss,’' he said.
Copyright 2009 Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.