AFFIDAVIT AND REQUEST FOR ARREST WARRANT RULE 4, M.R.CRIM. PRO. 1, Ranger Investigator Matthew Bennett, being a law enforcement officer, and being first duly sworn, under oath, do hereby depose and swear as follows: That I have probable cause to believe, and do believe, that Ricky A, Plummer date of birt_ residing at_ iddeford, County of York, and State of Maine has committed the following offense: ARSON, Title 17-A Maine Revised Statutes, Section Class A The basis of my probable cause is as follows: The facts and circumstances, which lead your affiant to believe this, are as follows: It I have been a Forest Ranger in the State of Maine for 16 years, I graduated from the 26 week Maine Forest Ranger Academy in 2001 In 2010, I was promoted to the position of Forest Ranger Investigator; a position I currently hold. During my law enforcement career, I have conducted and participated in numerous criminal investigations including the crimes of Arson, Aggravated Criminal Mischief, and Timber 'I'hefi, Also during my law enforcement career, 1 have received specialized training in criminal investigation, interview and interrogation, crime scene processing and Wildland Fire/Arson Cause and Origin Determination and Wildland Fire Behavior. I have investigated over 300 Wildland Fires that have included incendiary, accidental and natural causes Because of my experience with Wildland fire investigation I have instructed numerous classes for new Maine Forest Rangers and members of the International Association of Arson Investigators 2. On April 15, 2016 a Wildland fire cOnsum grass and woodland west of East Grand Avenue, several occupied homes and unoccupied seasona 1 properties. The property that was damaged by the fire is owned by the State of Maine Bureau of Land A fl I I cquisition. The Dist call to dispatch reporting the fire was at 1454 hours by a witness, Daniel Costin of avenpon Condominiums Unit D2, who also provided a vi time he I deo of his observations at the reported the fire (See exhibit I), It was reported as being behind the Davenport on Walnut St, in Old Orchard Beach, I viewed the video and determined 00mm": Szasegoeated outside the western edge of the tree line west of the Friendship visible in the 2,200 feet north of the Davenport Condominiums the fire burned Wi'haae giggxminately 50 feet by 100 feet in size, Within seven minutes esfimmd at 200500 fw Per ;i;:ta30e of about a half a mile. Rates of spread were ed approximately 42 acres of marsh Old Orchard Beach that endangered 3. On April 15, 2016 I responded directly to the area of the ?r parked in front of the Sea Drift Motel (126 East Grand Ave), and $322133: I Ricky Plummer 1n 1115 black Fire Chiefs Cruiser travel south past me with his rear hatch up: I followed so we could work as a uni?ed command and ultimately worked alongside Chief Plummer at the command post located at the Davenport Condominium Complex, Walnut Street. At the command post, Chief Ricky Plummer was wearing similar clothing as the person I later viewed from the Friendship surveillance video, although now he was wearing his tum-out coat. fl. . On April 15, 2016 after the ?re suppression efforts were completed I began an investigation into the origin and cause of the ?re. This portion of the investigation which lasted for several days resulted in the conclusion that the ?re cause was Incendiary having originated in the marsh in the rear of 164 East Grand Avenue. 5. My wildland ?re investigation was completed in the same manner that I conduct all my ?re investigations. Wild?res are described as having four major parts; a ?head?, which is the direction the ?re is moving typically with the wind or up slope, these areas are described as exhibiting ?advancing? burn patterns; ?left and right ?anks?, and exhibit ?lateral? burn patterns and transition zones, typically due to changes in wind direction or changes in fuel types; and the ?rear? or ?heel?, this area of the ?re will exhibit ?backing? burn pattern indicators. Backing ?re is characterized as ?re moving down slope or against the wind. When determining the origin of the ?re, we analyze 14 indicator categories. These indicators will be apparent on large and small objects and wildland fuels. 1) Protection, 2) Grass Stern, 3) Freezing, 4) Degree of Damage, 5) Depth of Char, 6) Angle of Char, 7) Spalling, 8) Curling, 9) Sooting, 10) Staining, 11) White Ash, 12) Cupping, 13) V- patterns, and 14) Die Out. Before entering the ?re area we determine the head, ?anks and heel by obserng large scale (macro) indicators such as angle of char, freezing, Whitc 35h degree 0f damage, protection, sooting, staining, and spalling which indicate to us whether a ?re advanced through an area versus backed through an area. Photographlf?a Vldeo and personal observations of the ?re behavior allowed me to easily determine that the ?re moved in a direction from north (by the northwest point of the forested area) to south (towards the Davenport condominiums) During the ?res growth, this would haVe been. classi?ed as the head, because it was the direction the ?re moved. The heel of the ?re IS found opposite the head. The heel of the ?re was determined to be the northern most portion. The ?re in this area backed up to Jones Creek, thereby running Ont 0f available fuel. The ?anks of the ?re are determined by standing at the heel of the ?re, looking towards the head, my left hand side is the ?res left ?ank; my right hand side is the right ?ank. Speci?cally, the left ?ank burned along the railroad tracks and the rear of properties along East Grand Ave. The right ?ank was bound by Jones Creek west of East Grand Ave. This is standard terminology. at the head of the ?re, being the southern end of the ?re area we observed advancing burn pattern indicators that lead us to believe the origin is horth of our pOSItlon. We followed these advancing burn pattern indicators to a point where we could see grass stem Indicators ahead of us; which are indicative of backing ?re. At this point we knew we were at the general origin area. This area was at the far northern portion of the ?re area. During this wildland ?re investigation I was assisted by three other Maine Forest Rangers, Ranger Parsons (a 42 year veteran of the Maine Forest Service), Ranger Skillin (a 24 year veteran of the Maine Forest Service) and Ranger Rousseau (a 16 year veteran of the Maine Forest Service). All of the assisting rangers agreed with my determination of the general area of origin. 1 used colored ?ags to visualize directionality of ?re spread; blue for backing, red for advancing, and yellow for lateral. These ?ags are placed with the corresponding burn indicator and photographed. At this point the larger scale, mac-re, intiicaters become more slight. I then needed to work closer to the ground to observe micro indicators; such as grass stems, cupping, protection, staining, and degree of damage. 1 determined the speci?c origin area to be along a game trail located as naming east-west roughly 30 feet south of the northern portion of Jones Creek (as by deer seat and musk rat sign). From behind 164 East Grand Ave, where the Grid Orchard Beach Fire Chiefs cruiser is seen parking, going across a small paved parking area and crossing the railroad right-of?way (which is described a private corridor running north-south parallel with East Grand Ave) is a visible footpath which meanders in a northwesterly direction, passing by a tree fort in a large white pine tree. The footpath turns southerly and continues through the woods swinging back east towards the railroad tracks. From the tree fort going west is a small game trail that snakes through a brushy thicket and out into the marsh. I determined the origin to be roughly 80 feet from the woodline out in the marsh along the game trail. A person would have to leave the beaten footpath and pass through the brushy thicket to gain access to the marsh. To the immediate north of the game trail was observed grass stems; an indicator of backing ?re. To the immediate south of the game trail were indicators of advancing ?re angle of char on grass clumps, angle of char through shrub thickets, and degree of damage on ground fuels. I gridded along this game trail from an advancing area to a backing area. I moved forward one foot at a time until I have gridded across the speci?c origin area. The last thing I did was pass a magnet over the area to pick up any metal objects. This is done last as it is the most disruptlve to the specl?c origin area. I did not locate any evidence of human activity such as cigarette butts, glass, ?re-works, matches, matchbooks, etc. Natural causes such as lightning and spontaneous combustion were eliminated as possible ?re causes. - . . v3 (?me training and experience, on wild?re scene investigation in con'Junctlon With Video and photographic evidence has led me to the conclusion that all accidental ?re causes were excluded and the cause of this ?re was incendiary. 6. The ?re occurred west of Pan Am railways and calls were made to Amtrak and Pan Am to request time frames of train passage and videos for review. Amtrak records their trips with a front and rear mounted digital video recorder, I asked them to preserve the Video for viewing as it may show human activity along the tracks during the time of the ?re. On April 22, 2016 Amtrak Detective Mike Lee advised that the video was viewed and they did not see any activity along the tracks during that stretch of tracks or any ?res next to the tracks. Based on videos I have seen and the report from Detective Lee as well as my examination of the ?re scene, I was able to rule out trains as involved as a potential ?re cause. 7. At the time of the ?re several people were encountered by Rangers in the area of the marsh and woods and they subsequently interviewed and eliminated as suspects by investigators regarding their whereabouts and actions. a. On April 15, 2016 Two young men were found to be in the area; Francesco Seedner on the beach located east of Grand Avenue and on the opposite of the road ?om the ?re, and Eric Stanton at his 6 Scoliard Rd address in Old Orchard. Seedner called his friend when he sees the smoke, and they both moved to the northern end of the Sea Drift Motel to assist ?re ?ghters. A?er assisting them with hose lays, they moved up the tracks and looked for more ?re. They moved northward and came to the tree house. Once they felt they were no longer able to help with ?re suppression they left the ?re area. Myself, Old Orchard Beach Police Detective St Pierre and Detective Sergeant Hemingway have each interviewed them and determined they were not involved with the cause of this ?re. b. On April 30, 2016 I interviewed Clayton Autry, Devin Thompson, and Matthew McDonald; three young men seen near the origin of the ?re at 1620 hours by my Supervisor, Sergeant Greg Hesslein. Autry told me that he and Thompson traveled south on East Grand Ave headed to the 7/1 1 store for beer and gas (seen in a doorless Jeep Wrangler on Friendship surveillance segment #2 at counter 14:56:45 (22seconds after the 008 passes)) they initially thought someone was bumin trash, but realized that the marsh was on ?re. They pulled into the parking lot of 152 East Grand Ave (two gambrel style apartments), they took some pictures and video. They said the Old Orchard Beach Fire Chief (recognized by his black, lettered, Fire Chiefs cruiser) pulled up near them, parked and walked towards the railroad tracks while speaking on his radio. They pulled back onto East Grand Ave. thinking they would still go to 7/11 store, but saw ?re hoses being pulled across the road. They decided to go the other direction into Scarborough at 15:12 hours (seen on the Friendship surveillance). When they got back to 96 East Grand Ave, they decided to walk down the beach barefoot to see what was happening with the ?re and to watch the helicopter; at this point Matt MacDonald, whom also lives at 96 East Grand Ave, joined them. They walked south on the beach to a point where they could see the helicopter dropping water and walked towards East Grand Ave. They crossed East Grand Ave and stood in a vacant lot (across from the Friendship). Thomas Schilling, an employee of the Friendship, saw them from the second ?oor balcony. He noted they were barefoot. The three young men followed volunteer F?s into the Schillings followed them into the woods, as he, too, was curious about the ?re. They climbed up into the tree fort to get a better view. This is when Ranger Hesslein identi?ed them and asked them to leave the ?re area; which they did. I reviewed photographs taken by Autry on his phone and found the time stamped photos to be consistent with his statement. 8. On April 20, 2016 Detective St. Pierre reported to me that he viewed surveillance video located at 167 East Grand Ave (the Friendship Oceanside Suites). Det. St Pierre indicated that he saw the Old Orchard Fire Chiefs black Ford SUV cruiser with Fire Department logo on the side, entering from the right side of the screen (the Scarborough end of East Grand Ave) and pulling into 164 East Grand Ave where it parks directly behind the building (can see its shadow) at 14:28:51 hours. A male subject appears wearing a dark ball cap and dark blue or black clothing from where the Old Orchard Fire Chief cruiser is parked and walks up to the railroad tracks, he pauses brie?y, and then enters the railroad right?of-way. He is out of sight for about 25 minutes. During that 25 minute time period no other people are at the rear of 164 East Grand Ave. The male subject reappears from the back far right side hf the screen at 14:53:36 hours; he appears to be walking quicker than when he was seen entering the woods. He walks back towards the Old Orchard Fire Chiefs cruiser. Soon the Old Orchard Fire Chief? cruiser rolls forward (as seen by the moving shadow in the video). During the course of this investigation I have travelled by foot from the parking lot of 164 East Grand Avenue, where the Fire Chief? 5 vehicle was parked, to the area of ?re origin. Each time this walking distance has taken no less than four (4) minutes to complete. The initial 91 1 call reporting the ?re is received by the Scarborough Dispatch Center at 1454 hours, establishing that Chief Plummer (as identi?ed in the video) is in the woods during the incipient stages of the ?re. The Old Orchard Fire Chiefs cruiser then appears from the behind the building at the south side, and pulls onto East Grand Ave headed back towards Scarborough at 14:54:40 hours. Less than two (2) minutes later, at 14:56:21 hours, the Old Orchard Fire Chiefs cruiser is seen with emergency lights heading south on East Grand Avenue. 9. Upon viewing the video I am sure that the male seen in the video that exited the Chief 5 vehicle was in fact Fire Chief Ricky Plummer based on his gate and appearance. Old Orchard Police Chief Kelley also made the same observation on 4/25/16. 10. On April 28, 2016 I received audio recordings from Scarborough Regional Dispatch of radio traf?c around the time of the ?re on April 15, 2016. On these audio recordings, I heard the Old Orchard Fire Chief, Ricky Plummer say at 1421 hours he was ?in route to the Seascape ?for ah? East Grand Ave for Inspection.? The Seascape is located at 221 East Grand Ave. 8/10 of a mile north of 164 East Grand Ave (a vacant building) where he is seen parking. At 1448 hours Fire Chief Plummer is heard on the audio recording saying ?Be clear of the inspection,? dispatch acknowledged both transmissions. During the second statement Chief Plummer was still in the wooded area as seen on the Friendship surveillance video. Det. St. Pierre told me that he believes the second transmission to have been made from a portable handheld radio as it sounds like .111. s. TIP: -, $3in RiCky is walking, not a vehicle mounted radio. As noted above, 16 ?mmer emerged from the wooded area behind 164 East Grand Avenue at 3 four minutes after this radio traf?c from his portable 1456-1101? Ch. 191133 a dispatch radlo transmission announces the reported ?re and at 1 . 1e icky Plummer reports by radio that he is located at ?Milliken and a nut DOW (which IS located south of the ?re scene). Also at 1456 hours, the Old Orchard Beach Fire Chiefs vehicle is seen on the Friendship Oceanfront Suites video surveillance passing southbound on East Grand Avenue with emergency lights activated, travelling from north of the ?re scene. 11. On April 15, 2016 I viewed a video posted to YouTube. The video titled, ??re Old-orchard. beach 4/15/16,? shows Fire Chief Plummer (in his black SUV Chief?s vehicle) arrivmg on East Grand Avenue in the area of ?re trucks North of the Sea Dri? Motel and arriving from the North, contradicting his 14:56 hours radio traf?c indicating he 18 at ?Milliken and Walnut right now.? 12. On April 16, 20, and 25, 2016 I spoke with Fire Chief Plummer. On the 16th he accompanied me to the area behind the Sea Drift Motel. On the 20th, he told me that by chance, he saw my truck parked a1 tire rear cf 164 East Grand Ave. and decided to walk out onto the marsh where Det. St. Pierre and I were looking at ?re indicators. On the 25th he again met me in the woeded area as i was walking out. At no time did he offer that was parked behind 164 East Grand Ave; or that he walked into the woods; or what he did whiie he was in the woods; or that he responded down East Grand Ave from the Scarborough end, nor did he mention/volunteer or report to me that prior to dispatch recording that he smells or sees smoke. 13. On April 29, 2016 I met with Fire Chief Ricky Plummer to discuss information I would need for my Fire Report. During this meeting, Fire Chief Plummer told me that he had responded to this ?re from ?Milliken St, well actually on Old Orchard St. had just left the Town Hall?. Also during my meeting, Fire Chief Plummer says (in reference to wild?re) ?that was as close as I?ve ever come to burning a building down. . .besides Florida.? 14. On May 4, 2016 I spoke to Police Chief Dana Kelley. Dana Kelley told me he was at the Town Hall when the call came in; that he had just le? a meeting with the Town Manager. He says Fire Chief Ricky Plummer was not at the Town Hall during the time that Chief Kelley was there. 15. On April 30, 2016 I dropped off surveillance videos from the Friendship Ocean?ont Suites at 167 East Grand Ave motel and additional video from the Royal Anchor Motel at 203 East Grand Ave. to Detective Ivan Ramsdell of the Scarborough Police Department, an experienced detective in digital media examination. Detective Ramsdell independently veri?ed the video?s time stamps. He reported to me that when the Old Orchard Fire Chiefs cruiser leaves 164 East Grand Ave headed towards . Scarborough, the vehicle does not appear in the Royal Anchor surveillance (Wthh IS 4/ 10ths of a mile north of the Friendship on East Grand Ave.), establishing that the ifqt,? . .- .- vehicle never travelled that far north. Det. Ramsdell reported that before he is seen again on the Friendship surveillance he is responding to the ?re one minute and thirty seven seconds later. 16. On May 6, 2016 Myself and Sr. Investigator for the Fire Marshal?s Of?ce, Mark Roberts and I met Fire Chief Ricky Plummer at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine in a 2nd ?oor hOSpital room to execute a search warrant for his Fire Chief cruiser keys and cellular phone. I handed him the Search Warrant and the receipt for items seized. I advised him that I would love to have the Opportunity to Speak with him when he was ready. He said right now. We were provided a private room, also on the second ?oor in the hospital by a nurse. The room was a supervisor?s of?ce fumished with an of?ce desk, and a small table. Fire Marshal Mark Roberts sat behind the desk, and Fire Chief Ricky Plummer and I sat at the table with Fire Chief Ricky Plummer closest to the door. The door was closed and unlocked for privacy. I read Fire Chief Ricky Plummer his Miranda rights and received a verbal reply ?yes? to each question and he agreed to speak with us. I also advised him that I would be recording this interview, he understood. Investigator Roberts was wearing a vest and his ?rearm was not visible, I was not armed during the interview but wearing a uniform. 17. During the interview I conducted of Fire Chief Ricky Plummer with Inv. Roberts, Fire Chief Ricky Plummer initially denied any invoivement in the ?re. During the course of the interview he then made admissions regarding the fact that he was responsible for the ?re and represented the facts in a manner not consistent with my ?ndings about the ?re cause. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer reported that he was, in fact, responsible for the ?re. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer stated that he had walked out into the woods and marsh to get some ?peace.? He stated that he had taken two cigarettes from his wife to smoke and took one out into the marsh as a stress relief, something he reported smoking only two or three times in the past 6-8 months, never in the marsh where this ?re had occurred. Smoking is something that he told me he has never told anyone before and that no one would be able to verify is a practice or habit of Fire Chief Ricky Plummer?s. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer pointed out to me on a map where he was smoking, where he lit the cigarette with two tear off matches and that he threw the matches on the ground and then the cigarette on the ground in chest high dry cattails. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer pointed to the location where he dropped the matches and it was the same location I previously determined as the area of origin, information that had not yet been shared with Fire Chief Ricky Plummer. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer stated he then walked out of the woods and was unaware that a ?re had been started or was burning. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer reported that he saw no other people in the area and that he understood that he i was responsible for the ?re. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer continued to deny that he had intentionally started a ?re or that he was aware it was burning when he left the marsh and woods to return to his vehicle. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer reported to me that upon hearing the ?re call reporting the ?re he immediately knew that he was the person responsible, knowing that he had just been smoking in the area that the ?re was reported. Fire Chief Ricky Plummer reported that he ?knew better? than to be smoking in the marsh, that he had just managed a forest ?re on the previous day, a ?red ?ag? or high wild land ?re danger day when no outside burning was allowed. He reiterated on more Occasions, noting "i know better to even be om there with a cigarette," Fire Chief Ricky Plummer told me he doesn't like smoking, doesn't like the taste and doesn't inhaler Fire Chief Ricky Plummer told me that a couple of days afier the event he threw the second Clgarette, that he didn't smoke, and the book of matches that he used a 7-11 store trash Cart or possibly at Fotvin's storei Fire Chief Ricky Plummer acknowledged that, although he was given several opportunities, he never told me what had happened and that he had continued to misrepresent the truth to me about his actions the day of the tire and what he had in fact been doing in the marsh. 18. During the course investigation, as detailed above in my origin and cause, no Cigarette butts or any other smoking materials were located in the area of fire origin, saarched the area carefully and would have certainly located evidence of this nature if it existed. During my career have investigated several cigarette caused fires and the cigarette has always been present at the origin upon my examination, At the time ignition to wildland fuels occurs by cigarette it is a low intensity combustion process that travels away from the ignition source and allows the fiberglass butt to remain intact. 19' On April 14, 20l6 he managed a fire that burned two acres off School Street, in dry bamboo, caused by three female juven garettes. The tire was characterized as extreme I discussed the chain of events that led to the fire the he describes for his own fire were to the previous days fires .71 3 e'learned from Ranger lnvi Byers that she interviewed three (3) Old Orchard Beach Fire Captains. The three captains reported to her that Plummer has never been seen smoking, that he is not known to smoke cigarettes and none were aware that he had ever smoked before. Ranger lnv. Byers also told me that Captain John Gilboy further advised that he had never smelled cigarette smoke on Ricky Plummer's person or in his vehicle. WHEREFORE, your affiant requests that a com laint and warrant of arrest be issued for the said Ricky A. Plummer date ofbirthhor the crime of Arson, Title 17-A, Section 802(l)A committed on 04/15/2016 DESCRIPTION: NAME: Ricky A. Plummer DOB: RACE: White GENDER: Male HGT: 5'10" war: 210 HAIR: Gray EYES: Brown -. ?/zrmm/ Dated: ?m 20 My 7 STATE OF MAINE YORK, ss. Personally appeared before me the above-named Forest Ranger Matthew Bennett, and made oath as to the truth of the foregoing af?davit signed before me. Dated: my) 7! Superior Court Justice, Clerk WW DETERMINATION OF PROBABLE CAUSE I eviewed the above sworn af?davit, and I hereby do ?nd that@ proba le ca to believe that the defendant 1 ted the offense(s). Date: 951 L3 Superior Court Justice Wet?W Warrant to Issue Bail requested by the State: Bad ij? ?10, 000 '00 CWLL sted: N0 (?90:me fade?! L'an . No Winch 0M9 Mm!) Bandy Conditions reque