PORTLAND — A man charged with arson in connection with an October fire that destroyed the building of a Freeport plumbing business was sentenced today to five years in prison.

Christopher Lee Veysey II, 22, was accused in the fire at Bob Miles & Son on Route 1, north of downtown Freeport. The roof of the 100-foot-by-50-foot building collapsed and much of the equipment and supplies inside suffered damage. The business filed a claim for $1.2 million of damage, according to the prosecutor.

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Christopher Lee Veysey ALL

Veysey, most recently of New Gloucester, had been charged with three counts of arson, nine counts of burglary of a motor vehicle and one county of theft.

He pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court today to one count of arson and six of the burglary counts. The others charges were dismissed.

District Court Judge Mary Kelly ordered Veysey to serve 15 years in prison, with all but five years suspended, and four years of probation, the sentence that was agreed upon by the prosecution and defense.

Veysey told authorities that he was using a cigarette lighter as a light source while breaking into vehicles by the business, according to Assistant District Attorney Angela Cannon.  Veysey said papers under the seat of one van caught fire and he patted out the fire with his hands, she said. He saw smoke from that vehicle after he moved on to others, she said.

Authorities arrested Veysey the following day as he was in line to board a bus for South Carolina. They had learned about Veysey after a woman called police to say that she suspected him of taking her wallet and keys from her home.

It turned out that Veysey had not taken those items, according to Peter Cyr, Veysey’s court-appointed lawyer. The theft charge resulting from that report was among the charges that were dismissed.