Man sentenced for role in downtown fire

The office of Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice on Wednesday issued a release stating that Michael C. Halstead has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent burning in connection with a fire that destroyed two buildings in downtown Maryville in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2011.

Blamed on careless smoking, the fire largely gutted a three-story commercial/residential structure at 224 N. Main Street. A second storefront to the south sustained heavy heat and water damage and was demolished later.

The roof of a third building at 220 N. Main, which contained the popular Bookstop Coffee Shop, later collapsed. The business was one of several forced either to close or re-locate in the fire's aftermath.

In addition, about 15 people living in second- and third-story apartments lost their homes in the fire. There were no serious injuries.

Rice said Halstead entered his guilty plea after the case was set for trial following an earlier postponement. He was sentenced to four days in the county jail and received two years of supervised probation.

According to the prosecutor's office, Halstead had a detectable blood alcohol level of 0.095 several hours after the fire and accidentally started the blaze by placing a lit cigar on his bed.

"As a result of Halstead's careless disregard for others many lives were endangered, including those of the people living in the apartments and the emergency personnel that ran to the rescue of those people," Rice said. "Emergency personnel ran into a burning building trying to save what property they could. They are heroes."