A West Virginia man was convicted Tuesday in Allegany County Circuit Court of setting three fires earlier this year that damaged 57 acres in Green Ridge State Forest.
Brian Chad Twigg, 20, of Paw Paw, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree malicious burning, a felony. He was sentenced to four years in prison, with all but six months suspended, and placed on supervised probation for five years. Twigg also was ordered to pay $13,814 in restitution.
Maryland Natural Resources Police investigators determined that a fire March 23 near Malcolm Road and fires April 3 and April 4 near Kirk Road were intentionally set. Evidence and tips led back to Twigg, a volunteer firefighter, who was arrested April 24.
In addition to the counts of malicious burning, Twigg was charged with malicious destruction of property and maliciously setting fires. The nine charges carried a maximum prison sentence of 39 years and a fine of up to $28,500. The misdemeanor charges were dropped when Twigg pleaded guilty.
