AUGUSTA — A lawyer for the Maine man accused of burning down a coffee shop that employed topless servers has asked a judge to dismiss the charges.
Raymond Bellavance’s attorney asked a judge in Kennebec County Superior Court on Wednesday to dismiss arson charges because prosecutors had not disclosed all the evidence gathered about the fire at the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro in June 2009. The evidence includes interviews with inmates in the jail where Bellavance is being held pending trial.
The Kennebec Journal reports that Bellavance’s lawyer says the inmates were offered favorable treatment.
The 50-year-old Bellavance of Winthrop is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 14.
Seven people, including two infants, were in the building at the time of the fire, but all escaped unharmed.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.