A Harvard youth is facing two arson-related charges stemming from an incident that occurred more than three months ago on Old Littleton Road.
Andreas Cerva, 19, of 228 Old Littleton Road was arraigned in Clinton District Court earlier this month, accused of setting fire to a baby carriage and igniting a propane tank in an orchard near 210 Old Littleton Road on the night of May 23. Cerva, who grew up in town, has admitted to setting the fires and is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing on September 10. Both charges are felonies and punishable by prison time, fines, or both.
At his arraignment on August 13, Cerva was assigned a court-appointed lawyer and released without bail on his own recognizance.
Baby carriage and propane tank
On the day of the incident, which he described in a statement to police as “a boring and rainy day,” Cerva said he wheeled a baby carriage and a half-full propane tank to a nearby orchard. Using a lighter to ignite a sock duct-taped to the end of a stick, he set fire to the carriage and then opened the valve on the propane tank, which was sitting next to it, “to see what would happen.” A teenager who was returning home from a babysitting job spotted the fire and reported it to her mother, who called the police shortly after 8 p.m.
According to the report of the responding officer, Officer Scott Hughes, when he arrived at the scene both the baby carriage and tank were still burning, but there was no one in sight. Officer Hughes did encounter Cerva and a friend walking together on the road. Both denied any knowledge of the fire.
Hughes called the on-duty fire officer, Lieutenant Charles Nigzus, who sent two trucks to douse the blaze. When Hughes returned to the scene later that evening to retrieve the propane tank, it was gone. Officer John Coates found the tank the following day in the detached garage of the home at 228 Old Littleton Road, where Cerva lives.
Cerva is charged with two crimes against property under Chapter 266 of the Massachusetts general Laws, the first for “willful” burning of personal property and the second, a more serious charge, for setting fire to a potentially explosive device.
During their follow-up investigation, police interviewed two other youths suspected of having knowledge of the incident, but neither has been charged. In his statement to police, Cerva wrote, “It was all my doing.”
2012 Bromfield graduate
Andreas Cerva is the son of Barbara Cerva of Old Littleton Road and of Thomas Cerva, who died in September 2012. He graduated from the Bromfield School in 2012.
