POUGHKEEPSIE – Dover resident Charles Keenan, 49, on parole for a weapons charge, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for arson on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. In addition to the 10 years, Dutchess County Court Judge Jessica Segal also ordered five years of post-release supervision for Keenan who set fire to a house in January 2022.
At the time of his arrest by members of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Imperati said, “The alleged actions of this defendant not only endangered the lives of the residents in the apartment building but also the lives of the firefighters who responded and extinguished the fire.”
Dutchess County Senior Assistant District Attorney Ryan LeGrady was prepared to prosecute Keenan, who pleaded guilty before Judge Segal in January of this year.
LeGrady works closely with the Dutchess County Fire Investigation Division and praised their work bringing Keenan to justice. “The Dutchess County Fire Investigation Division is a group of highly skilled volunteers who leave their families in the middle of the night to dig through fire scenes, often remaining on scene hours after first responders have gone,” he said. “They perform an invaluable service to this community and, especially on this case, did a great job collecting the evidence we needed to hold Keenan accountable for what he did.”
