BELCHERTOWN — A third man has been charged in connection with the April fire at an Amherst apartment that seriously injured a man and caused heavy damage to an off-campus rental on Main Street.
Conor C. Murnane, 23, of North Reading, pleaded not guilty in Eastern Hampshire District Court Tuesday to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a Roman candle), wanton destruction of property over $1,200, burning wood, unlawful possession of fireworks and a miscellaneous fire violation for causing an incident that resulted in serious bodily injury.
He is a 2017 UMass graduate. He is being represented by attorney Frank Flannery, according to court documents.
Two University of Massachusetts Amherst students — Laban K. Christenson, 23, of Waltham and Andrew Ho, 21, of Hyannis — were also charged in connection to the incident. Both men pleaded not guilty in Eastern Hampshire District Court earlier this month to the same charges as Murnane. Ho was also arraigned on a charge of disconnecting a sprinkler system after admitting to removing fire detectors.
All of the men were released on personal recognizance and are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 6.
A fourth man in the apartment, also a UMass student, suffered second- and third-degree burns as well as smoke inhalation. He was brought to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital before later being released to continue his recovery.
Amherst police and fire departments were called around 2:50 a.m. to a report of fireworks and smoke as well as an active fire at 285 Main St., a six-unit residence, located across from the Emily Dickinson Museum, according to the criminal complaint written by Amherst Police Detective Nicholas Chandler.
The fire, which was located in Apartment 5, “stemmed from the ignition of the fireworks within the living room area,” Chandler wrote. Police learned that through Snapchat videos depicting Christenson, Ho and Murnane setting off fireworks within the apartment, according to Chandler’s report.
“In this Snapchat video a male party is seen holding a Roman candle style firework inside Apartment 5. A male party held the firework, it exploded multiple times while aimed at different parts of the room,” Chandler wrote.
Ho allegedly admitted to police he had removed the fire detectors as a result of the smoke caused by igniting the fireworks, according to the report. Police characterized the behavior of the three men as “egregious” and said they “showed a general disregard” for the likely and harmful consequences of their actions.
The fire displaced 21 UMass students.