3rd Suspect in Massive Mill Fire Pleads Guilty

Firefighters from 18 departments responded.

A third person has pleaded guilty in connection with a blaze at a vacant mill in Norwich last year.

Victoria Ercoli, 19, of Norwich pleaded guilty on Thursday in New London Superior Court to accessory to reckless burning.

Prosecutors say Ercoli and two others acted as lookouts as three others scaled a barbed wire-topped chain-link fence and used gasoline to set fire to the century-old abandoned Capehart Mill in April 2010.

Firefighters from 18 departments responded to the blaze around 3 a.m. on April 27 and one firefighter was injured.

Under a deal reached with prosecutors, she is expected to be sentenced May 26 to a year in prison.

James Vanech and Michael Baker pleaded guilty to the same charge for acting as lookouts.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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