Defendant in apartment fire sentenced to jail

ELLSWORTH — The man indicted on arson charges in connection with a fire last year at a Bar Harbor apartment complex was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge.

Jimmy Deiters, 56, was sentenced May 20 in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court. Deiters entered a plea of no contest which the court considers a finding of guilty.

Deiters, who now lives in Ellsworth, was living at Harbor Hill Estates on the Highbrook Road in Bar Harbor in April 2015 when a small fire broke out in the living room of his apartment. Deiters was accused of setting fire to newspapers and then leaving the scene on a bicycle. A sprinkler system extinguished the fire before the fire department arrived.

Two days after the fire, Deiters was arrested on an arson charge by a state fire marshal.

Deiters was indicted in October 2015 on two counts of arson and one count of aggravated criminal mischief.

At his sentence hearing, Deiters pleaded no contest to a Class D criminal mischief charge. He is to receive credit for time served.

Class D crimes are punishable by up to one year in jail.