WEST LEBANON — Three Upper Valley police agencies combined efforts Sunday after a fire at a West Lebanon apartment complex and a burglary at Lou’s Restaurant in Hanover led to the arrest of a Hartford man.
Micah Bouton, 37, of Hartford, faces charges in all three communities after he was arrested by Hartford police officers as a fugitive from justice Sunday morning.
Officers from Lebanon, Hartford and Hanover all went to Bouton’s residence, where, according to an affidavit filed by Lebanon Police Department officer Emily Winslow, Bouton admitted to setting the fire and breaking into Lou’s.
The episode began around 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, when Lebanon police and firefighters responded to a report of a two-story maintenance building on fire at Meadowbrook Village Apartments. The fire was brought under control around 2 a.m.
While firefighters were still fighting the fire, Hanover police were responding to a burglary call at 1:50 a.m. at Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery where cash was taken from the popular eatery.
CCTV camera footage showed a man, identified by police as Bouton, entering Lou’s, on Main Street.
While investigating the burglary, an officer located Bouton’s vehicle, a gray, 2009 Subaru Forester, parked in a nearby lot, but couldn’t find him. While searching the area, the vehicle left and police couldn’t locate it.
A witnesses at the fire scene had reported seeing a similar vehicle leaving the area, and police watched video from cameras on nearby Mount Lebanon School that showed a vehicle that appeared to be a Subaru Forester driving toward the apartment complex at 1:03 a.m. and leaving at 1:14 a.m., according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, police spoke to property managers for Meadowbrook who identified Bouton as a former employee who was fired more than a year ago. They then spoke to a former Meadowbrook property manager, who said he had fired Bouton and had later caught him vandalizing his home with spray paint.
Early Sunday morning, Lebanon police sought a warrant for Bouton’s arrest on a felony charge of arson. In Hanover, Bouton has been charged with a felony count of burglary and a misdemeanor charge of theft, according to Lt. Michael G. Schibuola. Hanover is still investigating seven cases of vandalism and charges are pending for those, Schibuola said.
Bouton was issued one charge of criminal mischief for graffiti vandalism in Hartford, according to Lt. Tom Howell.
According to the arrest affidavit, police officers in Hartford and Hanover had investigated spray paint vandalism directed at the former property manager.
According to the affidavit, Bouton told officers he broke a window in the maintenance building, stole some tools, splashed around some gasoline and lit it, before driving to Hanover. Once there, he used the tools to break into Lou’s. Police recovered the tools from Bouton’s car.
Bouton was arrested Sunday and lodged at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vt., without bail pending an extradition hearing that was scheduled to be held Monday.
Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.