MONTAGUE — The Greenfield man who allegedly set fire to a house in Montague pleaded innocent to charges of arson, assault to murder and violating an abuse prevention order during his Franklin County Superior Court arraignment Wednesday.
Marcus V. Williams is accused of setting fire to a home at 28 Randall Wood Drive early in the morning of Dec. 9, 2015, where his ex-girlfriend and her father slept. Williams, who was 23 when the crime took place, has been held since a dangerousness hearing Dec. 14 in Greenfield District Court.
He faces charges of arson of a dwelling, two counts of assault to murder and violating an abuse prevention order. No one was hurt in the fire, extinguished quickly by firefighters responding to 911 calls at 3:16 a.m.
Williams’ bail was set at $100,000 cash or $250,000 surety by Judge John S. Ferrara during his arraignment Wednesday, on the conditions he remain drug and alcohol free, take his medication as prescribed, have no contact with the alleged victims and wear a GPS monitoring device. His next court appearance has been scheduled for Sept. 26.
Williams was held at Bridgewater State Hospital for a 20-day observation following his dangerousness hearing in December. Prior to his arrest, Williams was twice taken to Baystate Franklin Medical Center by police for involuntary mental health evaluations. According to police reports, he had recently returned from a two-week stay at Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke, where he was reportedly diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The state hospital found him competent to stand trial and he has since been held at the Franklin County jail.
Williams’ ex-girlfriend took out a restraining order against him in November after he allegedly told Greenfield police that he intended to burn her house. According to police reports, the two dated about six years ago, when both were in their teens. Williams has been the subject of numerous restraining orders and criminal charges going back to 2006, according to court records.
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