James McLeod, 16, of Dover-Foxcroft was sentenced to the Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston until his 19th birthday, with all but 21 days suspended.

McLeod was credited for the 21 days he spent at the center after the April 6 incident and will return to his father's Brownville home pending his transfer to a residential counseling facility. The juvenile has been under house arrest since his release from the youth center April 26. He will be on probation until he turns 19.

"All I really want to say is my apologies to the people that I've hurt," McLeod said Monday during the sentencing hearing. The teenager nodded and replied "yes, sir" as Judge Kevin Stitham explained how his actions and those of Aaron McLain, 17, made community members question their safety. "We all live in this community, James," Stitham said. "When things like this happen, it makes life in this community a little bit less [safe] than what is was before. "Two kids can come and just destroy it."

McLeod and McLain pleaded guilty to felony arson charges in May. McLain was sentenced to Mountain View Youth Development Center until his 19th birthday and is there now.

The court proceedings have been open to the public because of the severity of the youths' crimes. Although the fires caused more than $100,000 in damage, Stitham did not impose restitution on either youth because of their age and inability to pay.

Police said the two juveniles set fire to the milking parlor, hockey rink, fair office, a camper and a building that housed several pieces of antique and new farm equipment and recreational vehicles. The building and the equipment were a total loss.

McLeod apologized Monday to Bill Wilkins of Charleston, who lost farm equipment in the fire and attended the sentencing hoping for restitution. "I am really sorry for what I've done to you, and I know what I've done was wrong," McLeod said, his voice catching as he turned and faced Wilkins.

The state recommended that McLeod return to the youth center to serve the remaining nine days of a 30-day sentence, followed by treatment at a residential counseling center. "He needs to understand the seriousness of what he did," R. Christopher Almy, Piscataquis County district attorney, said at Monday's sentencing.

McLeod is easily pressured by peers and may not realize the severity of his crime, Deborah Reynolds, a juvenile community corrections officer, said during the hearing. "I think he is a risk in that he's very impulsive and easily led," she said. "I think there's some minimization going on on James' part."

Sending the juvenile back to the youth center, however, is unnecessary and would delay his mental health counseling, McLeod's court-appointed attorney, Chris Smith argued.

McLeod's stay at the youth center was traumatic and delayed his treatment for depression, Smith said.

"The juvenile system is about second chances, and I think James should have one," Smith said. "For James, I think 20 days [at Mountain View] is like 200 for anybody else."
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Tuesday, June 22, 2004 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."