arrested a 29-year-old Grafton man on arson charges in connection with this afternoon’s fire at 23 Countryside Road.
Joseph E. Mullen of 37 Stowe Road, Grafton, was charged with breaking and entering in the daytime for a felony and arson of a dwelling.
He was arrested at 3:07 p.m., barely two hours after the first 911 call was received about the fire. He is being held at the Grafton police station on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to appear Tuesday in Westborough District Court.
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No one was home when the fire started, but the homeowners, Robert and Kathleen Benoit, lost two dogs in the blaze.
The investigation into the fire was conducted by Detective William Kuck of the Grafton Police Department, State Troopers assigned to the state fire marshal’s office and ATF representatives.
Find out what's happening in Graftonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The investigation is continuing, but there appears to be no connection between today’s blaze and two house fires earlier this month, one on Airport Road and the other on Hingham Road.
Investigation of those two fires continues.
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