Former Volunteer Firefighter Pleads Guilty To Arson Case

TOWSON, Md. (AP) -- A former volunteer firefighter has pleaded guilty to a 2007 Baltimore County arson case.

The Baltimore Sun reports 28-year-old Nicholas Hannigan pleaded guilty last week to one count of first-degree arson in connection with a fire at an unoccupied home.

The arson allegations first came up in 2011 when Hannigan applied for a job at the U.S. Secret Service. Matt Darnbrough, a Baltimore County assistant state's attorney, says Hannigan flunked a polygraph test and eventually confessed to the arson.

Judge Robert E. Cahill Jr. gave Hannigan a 10-year sentence with all but nine months suspended and a $5,000 fine. Hannigan was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation.

Darnbrough says Hannigan had fought the 2007 fire and was hospitalized afterward. The fire caused $130,000 in damage.

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