Man convicted of burning down topless coffee shop wants a new trial
A man convicted of burning down a topless coffee shop in Maine wants a new trial, reports the Portland Press Herald.
Raymond Bellavance Jr., 55, is serving a 30-year sentence for burning down the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro in 2009. The coffee shop, which featured topless waitresses serving coffee and food, was located inside an old motel.
Bellavance was convicted on two counts of arson. During his trial, prosecutors said Bellavance set the fire because he was upset with his girlfriend, a waitress at the shop, because she was dating the owner. The owner and his family — which included his two daughters and two young children — were sleeping at the location at the time of the 1 a.m. fire. Everyone escaped.
On Wednesday, he told a judge he was unfairly convicted and wants a new trial. Bellavance said he did not start the fire and was in Augusta at the time of the incident. He also argued that the trial judge pressured the jury and his former attorney did not order DNA tests on items at the fire scene that he said would have exonerated him.
Read the full story in the Herald.
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