APRIL 03, 2015
WISCASSET, MAINE
A Dresden man has been sentenced to 90 days in jail and two
years of probation and must pay the state $6,662.61 in restitution for
fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, the state dismissed
two arson charges against him in connection with a 2013 fire at his home.
Robert Armstrong, 43, pleaded guilty March 27 in Lincoln
County Superior Court to theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, a Class C
felony, for collecting unemployment benefits while employed. He pleaded no
contest to theft by insurance deception for filing a claim for a May 7, 2013,
fire at his Dresden home, which the state
fire marshal’s office classified as arson.
One of the two arson charges alleged that Armstrong caused
the fire at his home with the intent to collect insurance proceeds, according
to his indictment. The other arson charge alleged the fire recklessly
endangered a person or property.
Armstrong will pay the restitution to the Maine Department
of Labor. Because of a pending civil claim against Armstrong by State Farm
Insurance, no restitution was ordered for the theft by insurance deception
conviction.
Armstrong was indicted
in September 2013 on the two Class A felony arson charges. On May 7, 2013,
seven area fire departments went to Armstrong’s home for a report of a fire,
according to The Lincoln County News archives.
A burst water pipe helped contain the fire to the basement,
and the fire was quickly extinguished. It was the second fire to occur at
Armstrong’s home within a year. The first was in November 2012. The state fire
marshal’s office later ruled the May 2013 fire to be arson.
Because of the conflicting opinions of expert witnesses to
be called during trial, the expected length of the trial, and the uncertainty
on the part of the state in its ability to prove the arson charges, both arson
charges were dismissed in favor of a new theft by insurance deception charge,
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright said.
Armstrong, represented by defense attorney Vanessa Bartlett,
pleaded no contest to the theft by insurance deception charge. By entering a no
contest plea, Armstrong neither admitted to nor disputed the charge.
According to Cornell University’s Legal Information
Institute, judges are able to sentence defendants who enter a no contest plea
as if they entered a guilty plea. No contest pleas are often entered when there
is an associated civil lawsuit because the plea cannot be used against the defendant
in a civil proceeding.