Newtown man considers plea deal in arson case
DANBURY — The man accused of setting fire to a Newtown Community Center building last year is considering a plea deal that would allow him to avoid prison time, according to his attorney.
George Ferris, now 27, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief last May after a three-month investigation into a fire that was set on the community center’s Simpson Street property.
The February blaze caused significant damage to an outdoor men’s bathroom on the property, which the fire marshal estimated at the time to cost about $12,000 to $15,000 to repair.
Security camera footage showed a person matching Ferris’s description enter the bathroom before the blaze, police said, then exit a minute later and get into a black Toyota Prius — which authorities later learned was the same car Ferris drove.
The director of the community center told police that Ferris was a former employee and that his last day of employment was Dec. 31, 2021, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
When informed that he was a suspect in the arson investigation, police said Ferris “did not seem surprised by the accusation or deny involvement,” but he declined to speak with police. He was later arrested on a warrant and pleaded not guilty to the felony charges.
During a Wednesday appearance at state Superior
Court in Danbury, Ferris’ attorney, Keith Murray, told Judge Charles Stango that Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Tori Ludwig had conveyed a plea deal that his client would be “willing to accept.”
“Part of the deal is restitution,” Murray said. “He has $10,000 today toward the total of $33,000 restitution.”
If he accepts the plea
deal, Ferris would pay the remaining $23,000 over a three-year probation period, Murray said.
Given that the plea deal had been offered earlier that morning, Murray requested time for his client to consider his options.
“I’m sure he’ll accept the offer — we just need time,” he said.
Ferris’s is due to appear in court on Feb. 15.