The ex-girlfriend of the man accused of starting a fire at a controversial coffee shop in Vassalboro says she’s stunned at the recent news.
Earlier this week police said 49-year-old Raymond Bellavance is responsible for the fire that levelled the Grandview Topless Coffee last year.
Bellavance still hasn’t been found, but TV5 caught up with his former girlfriend.
“I don’t know what to think. He’s said he didn’t do it.” When Krista MacIntyre heard that her ex-boyfriend was being blamed for setting the fire she says it was a shock. The 29-year-old had a relationship with Raymond Bellavance for about two months before she started working at Grandview Topless Coffee shop.
Adrienne Bennett: “Are you still working over at the the shop?”
MacIntyre: “Right now I’m taking a few days off, but I’ve been there over a year and I’m going to continue to work.”
Adrienne Bennett: “With Donald (Crabtree, the shop’s owner) is there a relationship?”
MacIntyre: “Um, off and on for about a year.
It’s a rocky relationship that MacIntyre’s mom says she disapproves of, saying there was a “love triangle” between her daughter, Bellavance, and Crabtree.
“What I’m trying to say is a I know a lot more being the mom,” Donna MacIntyre told TV5 on Thursday.
While MacIntyre says she had relationships with both men, police won’t say if love sparks fueled the fire.
Court records are sealed. According to authorities they’re not releasing many details to protect their case. They will say that once found, Bellavance will be charged with arson.
Just a day before police got a warrant for his arrest he was in jail on unrelated charges. Bellavance posted bail and hasn’t been seen since.
With Bellavance’s lengthy criminal history, including drug and assault charges, Sergeant Ken Grimes with the Fire Marshal’s office is urging caution to the public.
“Because of his past I would consider him a violent offender,” Said Sgnt. Grimes. “If they do happen to run across him or see him, pick up the phone and call I wouldn’t try to make any contact with him. Let us do it.”
Bellavance is described as 5 foot 7 inches tall, 150 pounds with dark hair, and numerous tattoos on both arms, the most prominent being a skull on each arm.
Anyone with information on Bellavance’s whereabouts is asked to call State Police in Augusta at 624-7076, or dial 911 on a cell phone.
