Concord Man Accused Of Setting Downtown Restaurant On Fire

CONCORD, NH — A Concord man was arrested Wednesday on arson charges after being caught on surveillance footage and accused by police of setting a garbage bag outside a downtown restaurant on fire Tuesday — and then, setting another bag on fire in a second incident Wednesday, causing damage to a building.

Around 3 a.m., Concord fire and rescue teams and police officers were sent to The Draft on South Main Street for a building fire. An employee closing up the bar left for the night and found a wall on the south side of the building on fire. The fire was a small enough that the staffer was able to put it out, according to a report.

When police arrived, they spoke with employees, with one of them suspecting the fire was intentionally set due to another incident about 24 hours before. At that time, the same officer was requested to the bar to have a man, Matthew Vashaw, 39, of South Main Street, trespassed from the restaurant after harassing customers.

Vashaw, according to the officer, was cited for disorderly conduct and taken into protective custody due to "alcohol impairment" after being accused of throwing coffee at an employee at Dunkin' Donuts on South Main Street about an hour after being trespassed from The Draft.

When asked why the employee thought Vashaw was the suspect, the employee accused him of "making threatening and harassing statements" via phone for the previous 24 hours after he was served with the trespass paperwork.

The employee also reported a fire had been set on July 21 in the same area of the building.

"(The employee) said he placed the trash bags outside at around 1:30 a.m., went back inside the building, and came back outside at around 3:30 a.m. to find they had been turned into a pile of ash," the officer said.

The employee said, at the time, he wasn't sure if the fire was accidental.

The officer, with employees, viewed security footage of the building and watched a time stamped video at 2:16 a.m. Tuesday that "showed Matthew approaching the trash bags mentioned by (the employee) holding a red gas can," the report said.

Watch the video below:

"The footage showed Matthew poured liquid out of said gas can onto the bags before leaning over and momentarily placing his left hand near the bags," the affidavit said. "As soon as Matthew's hand got close to the bags, the footage showed that the bags immediately ignited and went up in flames. In the footage, Matthew then appeared to walk away, gas can in hand."

The officer recognized the man in the security footage as Vashaw — because he was wearing the same clothes when he was taken into protective custody an hour later at Dunkin's, the report said. His face, the officer said, was also clearly visible in the video.

The officer went across the street to Vashaw's apartment to speak with him about the incident. The affidavit accused him of not remembering anything else about the morning beyond being taken into protective custody. Vashaw was then arrested on a felony arson charge. A second felony charge of attempted arson was added later. During a search, the officer found cigarettes and a lighter in his pocket, the affidavit said.

"Matthew would often speak without being prompted during the booking process," the officer stated. "At one point, he apologized to me, and said he 'f----- up last night."

Vashaw was arraigned July 22 and is due back in Merrimack County Superior Court Thursday for an evidentiary hearing.

Patch requested both a booking photo of Vashaw and a Concord Fire Department arson report but they were not available at post time.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Merrimack County Superior Court and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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