Maine Man Sentenced for Abandoned Mill Fire

A 20-year-old man is going to prison for 21/2 years for setting a fire that destroyed parts of an abandoned paper mill in central Maine.

Jack Russell Downs, of Gardiner, was sentenced Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court. But a judge ruled he won’t be required to pay restitution because he doesn’t have the ability to pay for fire damages.

According to the Kennebec Journal, Downs pleaded guilty this month to arson and burglary charges in connection to the Sept. 2, 2009, fire at the former Yorktowne Paper Mill in Gardiner.