The Morning Sentinel

July 28

Man denies guilt in fire at Grand View

Raymond Bellavance charged with arson in destruction of topless coffee shop in Vassalboro

By Betty Adams badams@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- The man charged with burning down the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro in June 2009 pleaded not guilty Tuesday to two counts of arson.

Raymond J. Bellavance Jr., 49, of Augusta denied the charges during his arraignment in Kennebec County Superior Court.

He answered, "Not guilty, your honor," when Justice Nancy Mills requested his plea.

Bellavance was arrested in early May in South Carolina on the arson charges.

Fire investigators allege Bellavance was the sole person responsible for setting the coffee shop ablaze during the early hours of June 3, 2009, while owner Donald Crabtree and his family -- including his daughters, their boyfriends and two young children -- slept inside apartments in the building. All seven people escaped injury after a passing ambulance crew noticed the blaze about 1 a.m. and woke them.

The topless coffee shop drew worldwide media attention after it opened on Route 3 in Vassalboro on Feb. 23, 2009. Crabtree has been rebuilding at the site and is operating the shop out of an office trailer on the property.

Mills ordered Bellavance's bail to remain at $1 million worth of property or $200,000 cash, and banned him from contact with Crabtree.

On Tuesday, the judge told Bellavance's attorney, J. Mitchell Flick, that bail could be reviewed at a later date.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Parker said Bellavance had an extensive criminal record dating to 1979 and had to be extradited from South Carolina on the current charges.

A 19-page affidavit filed in May in Kennebec County Superior Court by Kenneth MacMaster of the State Fire Marshal's Office claims Bellavance used gasoline to start the June 2009 fire because he was angry his girlfriend, Krista MacIntyre, was working for and allegedly in a sexual relationship with Crabtree.

MacMaster detailed in the affidavit an 11-month investigation that included statements from nearly two dozen witnesses, almost all of whom say they heard Bellavance talk about burning down the coffee shop.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com