Dune Rides arsonist faces prison time

By Daniel Pepper
Staff Writer

Mark Nichols

A Saugatuck man has been sentenced to prison and must pay $119,719 in restitution for committing arson at Saugatuck Dune Rides Sept. 27 last year.

Mark Andrew Nichols, 19, pleaded guilty to one charge of arson and one of larceny from a building.

The fire was started in a small shed in back, which burned and spread to the business’ main structure, causing substantial damage. The dune schooners parked outside were vandalized, with broken windshields and damaged tires.

Allegan County assistant prosecutor Douglas Ketchum asked Judge William Baillargeon to send Nichols to prison.

“Unfortunately, although this is a young man, we believe the amount of damage done requires the court to sentence him to prison time,” Ketchum said.

Attorney Robert Champion, representing Nichols, said he’d known his client for a long time.

“My client was diagnosed later in life with mental health issues and he’d been self-medicating for quite some time with illegal controlled substances,” Champion said.

“Since he’s been in jail, he’s gotten those out of his system and his medication has been stabilized. He’s doing much better.

“He’d ask the court to take that information into consideration and sentence him to 10 weeks in jail, with no prison,” Champion said.

He said his client had no explanation for what he’d done. Nichols didn’t speak in his own defense.

Baillargeon said arson was a very dangerous crime to the community as a whole, leaving aside the damage to the property in question.

“That’s nothing compared to the potential loss of human life or injury as a result of your actions,” he said.

Baillargeon urged Nichols to turn his life around. “This is not necessarily the final word on how your life will go,” he said. “This court feels bound to protect the community and impose a prison sentence.”

Nichols was sentenced to 18 months to 10 years in prison on the arson charge and 273 days in jail for the larceny charge. He received credit for 272 days in jail.

Several other charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.