The 19-year-old Portland man accused of setting a string of car fires in
April will be released tonight on bail for the second time.

Thomas Cassidy appeared with his lawyer, Nicholas Mahoney, at Cumberland
County Superior Court this afternoon. Cassidy was arrested on the morning of
April 11, and initially charged with torching 10 cars and stealing from at least nine more vehicles on the Portland peninsula.

He was released from jail May 2, but sent back on May 7, when police conducted a search of his home and found matches and a butane torch. As part of his bail conditions, Cassidy was not supposed to possess those items.

Prosecutors, however, agreed to give Cassidy another shot at bail, because they have not been able to seek a formal indictment against him. Reports from the state Fire Marshal's Office were received last month, which did not give prosecutors enough time to present the case to a grand jury last week.

Assistant District Attorney Deb Chmielewski told Superior Court Justice Kirk
Studstrup that she expects to seek an indictment when the grand jury convenes the first week of August.

Cassidy's mother, Patricia Cassidy, who also attended the hearing today, mortgaged her home to pay for her son's bail the first time. That same $90,000 will cover bail this time around as well, Mahoney said. The same bail conditions will apply.