By DENISE A. RAYMO
MOIRA -- A former member of the Brushton Volunteer Fire Department was sentenced Thursday to five years of probation for setting fire to an abandoned milk plant near his home.
Christopher A. Stickles, 22, of Moira pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted arson in Franklin County Court before Acting County Court Judge Penelope Clute.
The July 28 blaze destroyed a building on County Road 6 near the St. Lawrence County boundary line.
A second firefighter, Justin Slater, 27, is also charged with arson and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 9.
The pre-sentencing report from the Probation Department recommended Stickles serve some time in County Jail, and Chief Assistant District Attorney Jack Delehanty agreed.
He told Clute he believed Stickles should serve the first six months of the term behind bars, especially since he is a suspect in other deliberately set fires under investigation by the State Police.
And even though Defense Attorney Allison Appleby said her client had taken full responsibility for the fire, Clute questioned Stickles's sincerity since he claimed during his guilty plea in June that Slater told him a Fire Department official wanted them to burn the building down.
The judge gave Stickles a chance to step out of court with his lawyer and return with a response to her doubts.
They returned to court and made additional pleas that Stickles was gainfully employed and could serve weekends if he had to in order to keep his job.
Stickles said that if he got probation he would be a better example to his girlfriend's young son.
"I'd turn my life around. I made a mistake. I never should've done. Never should've done it.
"My girlfriend has a 4-year-old son, and I want him to have a better life than I had. I was bad in my childhood, but I want to have a good life and stay out of trouble."
The judge decided on a term of probation with no jail time but said she wanted Stickles to realize "arson fires are very dangerous, so deliberately, so intentionally set.
"You were a member of the Fire Department, and you betrayed the people who trusted you," she said.
Stickles agreed, saying, "I'm thankful no one got hurt other than myself."
After hearing the comment and reading the probation report, Clute said, "I am going to give you one last chance on probation, Mr. Stickles," adding that if he violates it in any way, she can send him to a maximum of seven years in state prison or time in County Jail.
She also ordered him to pay a total of $1,320 in court fines, surcharges and fees.
draymo@pressrepublican.com
