A Westbrook man who got out of jail a week ago on charges stemming from a domestic violence case was charged with arson Friday after he allegedly set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s house in Windham, arriving in a taxicab with a can of gasoline.
Nobody was home at the time and nobody was injured in the fire, which caused about $20,000 in damage to the residence at 199 Pope Road on Thursday night, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Curtis Crawford, 45, who had been living in a Westbrook motel, is being held on $40,000 bail on the arson charge but is also being held without bail on a charge of violating probation.
That probation stems from a February incident at the Pope Road house, where he threatened to kill his girlfriend and smashed a number of items in the house, according to court records. The woman told police that their relationship had been abusive for a long time.
Crawford was sentenced to one year in jail with all but 30 days suspended and two years probation, which included conditions that he not drink, that he check in with his probation officer and make all court appointments.
Crawford failed to abide by those conditions and had his probation partially revoked last month and was sent back to jail. He got out on May 28.
On Thursday, he allegedly took a cab to the house carrying a gasoline can with him, poured gasoline along the front of the 70-year-old Cape Cod-style home and lit it.
The fire was reported at 8:31 p.m. and was quickly brought under control by Windham firefighters.
Crawford was arrested by Windham police about a half-mile away as he waited at a nearby convenience store for a taxi, police said.
Crawford’s record includes a number of public order crimes, such as drinking in public and criminal trespass. In each of those cases, he was either fined or received a suspended sentence.
David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
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