An teenager from Hampden who investigators say threw a Molotov cocktail-like device at a Bangor apartment building has been charged with arson and attempted murder.
Authorities said last week that they were investigating after two bottles filled with an accelerant were thrown at a window of a French Street apartment building on Jan. 13. The outside window casing had fire damage from being hit by the bottle, the state Fire Marshal’s Office said.
Sunil Jones, 18, was arrested on Thursday and charged with arson and attempted murder for the fire at 208 French St. He was taken into custody at the Fire Marshal’s office in Bangor and taken to the Penobscot County Jail. His bail was set at $50,000 cash, at a first-appearance in Penobscot County Superior Court, and he was released Friday evening, jail staff said.
Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas confirmed last week that the investigation was looking at whether the fire-bombing was directed at a resident who works at a family planning clinic that provides abortions, but on Friday he said that lead did not develop.
“That circumstance was there, but none of those details have gone any further,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he did not have any information on what may have motivated Jones.
The joint investigation was led by the Fire Marshal’s Office and Bangor police with assistance from Hampden police, FBI and the U.S. Bureaus of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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