NK Man Gets 25 Years for Arson

A North Kingstown man has pleaded guilty to arson and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with 10 to serve.

Stuart Moody, 28, with a last known address of Oak Hill Road, North Kingstown, plead to first-degree arson for setting fire to the Best Buy shopping plaza on West Main Road in Middletown on Jan. 5, 2011. He was also ordered to pay more than $446,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced Friday.

Superior Court Justice Stephen P. Nugent ordered Moody to serve 15 years of probation after his prison term. Moody will receive credit for time served on home confinement since Jan. 18, 2011, which was set as a condition of his bail.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the state was prepared to prove that on Jan. 5, 2011, Moody set fire to Tuesday Morning, a discount and closeout store. Moody was employed at the store at the time of the arson. The fire caused significant damage to the store, as well as to the neighboring Cappuccinos bakery and Sedona fitness center, Kilmartin announced.

State Fire Marshal Chief of Investigations Michael Sweeney and Middletown Police Detective Walter Mey led the investigation and Special Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Newport County Unit James Callaghan prosecuted the case on behalf of the State.