”Nick” and “Curt,” the two teenagers who torched the former Town Hall in Jewett City in January 2006, are both sentenced prisoners now.

A New London judge sentenced Nicholas Euell to 50 months in prison and five years probation Thursday and ordered him to make restitution to the town and other victims. The state and defense had agreed that Euell, now 20, was more of a “follower” in the incident. His co-defendant, Curt Rivard Jr., is serving a six-year sentence.

State police identified Euell and Rivard as suspects when somebody tipped them off that “Nick and Curt” torched the historic School Street building and burglarized a flea market in the borough. The fire destroyed the unoccupied Town Hall, which turned out to be uninsured. A volunteer firefighter who fell at the scene suffered fractured vertebrae and ribs.

“I just wanted to say I'm sorry to everybody,” Euell said before he was sentenced, mentioning, specifically, the injured firefighter.

”I just want to do good,” Euell said. “I don't want to get in trouble no more.”

Both teens came from unstable homes and spent parts of their youths as wards of the state. They both spent time at Waterford Country School and had the same caseworker from the Department of Children and Families. When confronted by state police, both admitted their involvement in the crimes while de-emphasizing their own roles. Both have been incarcerated since they were arrested about a week after the fire.

Rivard was sentenced in November 2007 after pleading guilty to second-degree arson and third-degree burglary. Euell had initially rejected a plea offer from the state, but decided in June 2008 to accept a deal that exposed him to a maximum of six years in prison for the arson, burglary and an earlier car theft. His attorney, Peter E. Scillieri, had the right to argue for less prison time at sentencing.

State's Attorney Michael L. Regan urged the judge to adopt the full sentence, saying he had considered Euell's criminal history and youth before recommending six years in prison. Scillieri spoke of how Euell had never had a chance at a normal life and was himself a victim. (Euell did, in fact, become a victim when he was assaulted by another inmate following his arrest.)

Scillieri cited scientific evidence teenage boys' brains and impulses and evoked a Bruce Springsteen song, “Born in the U.S.A.,” about a broken-down character who still has hope. He told the judge Euell has finished his GED and other programs while incarcerated and has been working in the library at Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Institution. Scillieri asked the judge to defer sentencing and allow Euell to leave prison for a rehabilitative program.

Judge Susan B. Handy reduced the sentence below the state's recommendation, but said the crime was serious and that Euell needs to spend more time in prison. She said he was fortunate the firefighter was not killed and urged him to be a leader, not a follower, in the future.

The sentencing came as a civil lawsuit involving Griswold town employees and the town's failure to renew the insurance on the unoccupied former Town Hall continued in another courtroom.

Handy ordered Euell to repay the town $500 a year while on probation. She also ordered him to make $300 in restitution to the flea market for a broken window and unrecovered items and to repay the car owner $4,500 if his loss was not covered by insurance. Euell and another defendant had stolen the car at a gas station and crashed it.

K.FLORIN@THEDAY.COM

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