An 18-year-old former Haverhill resident has become the third person charged in last Tuesday’s large fire at the abandoned Stevens Street mill.
Bianca Leonhart of New Jersey was arraigned Monday in Haverhill District Court after voluntarily surrendering on a warrant. Haverhill Acting Deputy Chief Meaghan Paré said she was formally charged with arson of a structure and conspiracy.
Leonhart was first identified April 29 in Haverhill District Court. Essex County Assistant District Attorney Brittany Fraine said Isabella A. Sargent and a 17-year-old, who were previously arrested and charged in connection with the fire, entered the mill. When they stumbled over a box of yarn, the prosecutor alleged, they ignited it and sprayed the fire with aerosol deodorant to accelerate it. When the fire flared, they raced out of the building and fled to Sargent’s house. Fraine said Leonhart later left by bus for New Jersey.
The fire, which caused significant damage, has since required around-the-clock monitoring by Haverhill firefighters.
Sargent was charged with willingly and maliciously setting to burn the building and conspiring with the other two. Two of the teens were identified in surveillance camera images by a Haverhill School resource officer.