The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Man pleads guilty to attempted arson
TORRINGTON — A Thomaston man is set to serve 18 months in prison after allegedly threatening to burn down a home while on a “five day bender,” according to police.
Thomas E. Harrison Jr., then 52, of 71 Williams St., Thomaston, was arrested June 17 and charged with attempt to commit firstdegree arson, interfering with an emergency call, seconddegree breach of peace and first-degree reckless endangerment, according to state records.
He pleaded guilty to a substitute charge of attempt to commit third-degree arson Friday in Superior Court in Torrington, court staff said.
Under the prospective plea agreement, he would receive a sentence of eight years in prison, suspended after 18
months, with five years probation. According to a police report, members of the Thomaston police and fire departments responded to the scene of the potential arson June 17, and found “a strong odor of gasoline in the living room area of the home.”
While the officers were en route, a person reported to police that Harrison was attempting to burn down the home. Officers found an empty gasoline can and cardboard boxes doused with gasoline, according to the report.
A fire official noted that “he observed a pool of a liquid substance on the living room floor that had the strong odor of gasoline.”
Harrison was arrested and brought to the Thomaston Police Department, according to the report.
During the booking process, he told police “that he uses ‘about $1,000 worth of cocaine a day,’” was in the midst of a “five day bender,” and used cocaine prior to the incident. He told police in a statement that he “never had any in intention of lighting the boxes on fire,” according to the report. Harrison was having an argument with another person at the house.
He said that “as soon as (he) poured the gas (he) knew that it was a stupid thing to do," according to the report.
Harrison's case was continued to Nov. 28 for sentencing, according to Assistant Clerk Bob Stearns.