Opinion ID: 203601
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Giggey's Federal Crime

Text: On December 19, 2006, Giggey, then age twenty-seven, his slightly younger brother, and a juvenile male decided to burglarize a building on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, Maine. They chose the building thinking that it contained valuables because it appeared to have a security alarm on its outer door. To create a diversion, the three set a series of small fires in a nearby vacant building. That building was planned for restoration into new residential, commercial, and office space. The three went outside to see if the fires were visible from the street and returned after twenty minutes to set additional fires. The three left the burning building when an alarm sounded and then fled to their homes, fearing that they had been seen. No one was injured by the fires. But the flames spread to neighboring buildings and ultimately destroyed four buildings owned by Greely Capital, LLC, as to which Greely Capital had received a $50,000 federal rehabilitation grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which was administered by the City of Lewiston. The destruction of a federally funded rehabilitation project brought into play a federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 844(f)(1), which provides: Whoever maliciously damages or destroys ... by means of fire ... any building ... in whole or in part owned or possessed by... any institution or organization receiving Federal financial assistance, shall be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or both. On December 22, 2006, Giggey was arrested and held on a state arson charge relating to the fires. On April 9, 2007, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a one-count information against Giggey, charging him under 18 U.S.C. § 844(f). That same day, Giggey waived indictment and pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 844(f). Giggey's state arson charge was dismissed upon entry of his guilty plea to the federal crime. Only Giggey's sentence, not his guilt, is therefore at issue.