James Oney leaving Rutland District Court on Thursday. Photo: VYTO STARINSKAS / RUTLAND HERALD

A registered sex offender with a previous arson conviction is behind bars, charged with setting at least some of a string of more than three dozen fires set in trash bins around Rutland City over the past several months.

"I'm pleading the fifth," James Oney, 34, of Rutland, repeatedly told a reporter outside of a courtroom at Rutland District Court on Thursday afternoon moments before he was arraigned on six arson charges. "I'm not saying nothing."

Oney was arrested late Wednesday night following three more trash bin fires in the city.

Inside the courtroom, Oney sat at the defense table wearing dark sunglasses as Samuel Kinker, a public defender, entered innocent pleas on his behalf to the four felony and two misdemeanor arson charges.

Authorities said the investigation is continuing to determine if Oney is linked to any of the other suspicious fires, or if another potential suspect or suspects may still be on the loose.

Rutland County State's Attorney James Mongeon said in court Thursday that the charges against Oney contain allegations that he set fires in trash containers close to his home and outside residences of people he knew.

Oney has been charged in the largest and most destructive blaze in the series of blazes, a fire in a trash bin on May 12 that spread to a nearby building, causing about $195,000 in damage to the Italian-American Club on Grove Street, only a short distance from his Grove Street apartment.

"He is a person who takes advantage of his opportunities and surroundings," Mongeon said in court of Oney. "It shows he will act out against people."

Kinker had asked Judge Patricia Zimmerman to consider not setting bail and releasing his client on conditions. Kinker said Oney was not a risk to flee, that he lived near the courthouse, has a wife who was in court, and his parents live in Rutland County.

Kinker also took issue with Oney's confession to starting six of the fires, including the three Wednesday night, contending that his client suffered from a learning disability and police may have coerced him into admitting a role in the crimes.

"We feel there was undue effort by the police to coerce his confession," Kinker said, adding that several years ago Oney gave police a false confession to a serious crime that could have sent him to jail for life, only for police to later to discover someone else had committed the offense.

Kinker declined to reveal more details.

Zimmerman set bail at $25,000, pointing out that, according to records filed in the case so far, in at least three of the charges against Oney the confessions appear to be corroborated by witnesses.

City Police Detective Sgt. Kevin Stevens, who has overseen his department's portion of the investigation, declined to comment Thursday on the allegation that the confessions had been coerced.

It's not the first time Oney has been charged with arson.

He was convicted in 1991 of lewd and lascivious conduct for kissing and fondling a 10-year-old girl, according to court records, and in 1999 was convicted of an arson charge for lighting a trash bin on fire.

"Oney states that he never wanted to hurt anyone and was just frustrated and this is why he started these fires," city police Sgt. David Schauwecker wrote in an affidavit. "Oney stated that he knew what he did was wrong and is sorry for what he did."

Vermont State Police as well as Rutland City Police and federal authorities have been investigating the spate of trash bin fires in the city and nearby Rutland Town that began around February.

Authorities say the number of suspicious fires totals 44, most set late at night or early in the morning in trash containers outside commercial properties.

No one has been injured in any of the blazes. For a period of several weeks, trash container fires in the city were reported almost every other day, sometimes two a night. There had been no reported trash bin fires in the city over the past three weeks.

That was until Wednesday night, when three more were reported, one outside the Frito Lay building on Cleveland Avenue, another behind the Labor Ready building on State Street, and the third behind Oney's in-laws' home on Woodstock Avenue.

Police said a break in the case came after the trash bin fire Wednesday night on State Street, when Kimberly Linteau, 24, said she was walking nearby and smelled something burning.

She said she heard police and fire trucks responding the trash bin behind the Labor Ready building around 10:15 p.m., and then saw a man racing away from the scene on a bicycle. She provided police with a description of the suspect.

Linteau said in an interview Thursday that she has seen Oney quite a bit over the years walking and riding a bike downtown. A $5,000 reward had been offered for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the case.

Police said Thursday that they had not yet determine if anyone will receive a reward as a result of the arrest.

"I didn't do it for the reward," Linteau said of providing police with a description of the suspect.

The information on the State Street fire matched a description police received from another witness of a fire in a trash bin set only moments later outside the Woodstock Avenue home, the police affidavit stated.

The witness reported watching a man circling his bike around a parking lot near the home, then the man disappeared for a minute, only to be seen again speeding off on bike, Schauwecker wrote in the affidavit.

A few minutes later, police found a man on South Main Street riding a bike "in a very speedy manner," matching the description of both witnesses, court records stated. Officers pulled over and asked Oney if he would talk to them.

"When the officer asked Oney what was up, Oney stated, 'I didn't do it,'" the police affidavit stated. "When asked what he, Oney, was talking about, Oney informed the officer, 'the fires.'"

Oney then agreed to go to the police station and talk with investigators.

At the station, Oney told police he was mad at one of his in-laws and took his frustrations out by starting the three fires Wednesday night, adding that he found a pack of matches and divided the pack into three, one bunch for each fire, the affidavit stated.

Police said they asked Oney if he had been responsible for any of the other fires.

"Oney stated he had set some of the fires, but not all of them," the affidavit stated. "Oney was then asked if he started more than 25 fires, and he denied this. When asked if he set a number to closer 15, he stated more like 12."

Authorities said over the past several months said they have received many tips from the public that Oney may have been involved, but they were never able to gather enough evidence to charge him.

According to court records, police had questioned Oney on May 22, two days after blaze in a trash container caused tens of thousands in damage to fuel depot at the Rutland railyard.

At that time, court records stated, Oney denied being "involved" in any of the fires.

"Oney did provide suspects and/or descriptions, he thought might be involved for the Italian-American Club, and several other fires," the affidavit stated.

State Police Sgt. James Cruise, a fire investigator, declined Thursday to comment about the details of the investigation, referring questions to the court records.

He did say that, in total, the more than 40 suspicious fires in the city and nearby Rutland Town have led to a little under $500,000 in property damage.

City Fire Chief Robert Schlachter said Thursday that residents should continue to take precautions regarding their trash containers.

"At this time we're still asking people to remain vigilant," the fire chief said. "It's good practice no matter what that they keep their Dumpsters away from their buildings ... It's a good fire prevention tactic to use anytime."

The fire chief added that he learned of the arrest in the case early Thursday morning.

"I was pleased to hear that," he said. "Now, I'm waiting to see the outcome."

Schlachter estimated the additional cost to the city Fire Department of bringing in staffing to help on fire calls in connection with the fires at between $10,000 and $12,000, and a couple of firefighters suffered minors injuries fighting the blazes

"It's been a very busy spring and summer," the fire chief said. "Several of these fires resulted in either second or general alarm calls, which cost additional resources to the people of the city."

After bail was set at $25,000, Oney's wife appeared to try to go up to him to give him a goodbye hug as he headed to the Rutland jail.

However, the court officer placed Oney in handcuffs and took him out of the courtroom too fast for that to happen.

"I can't even get a kiss?" a woman identified only as Olney's wife asked the deputy. "This is bull--."

Michael Campbell, a resident of an apartment house of the corner of Melrose Avenue and North Main Street scorched by a trash bin fire in early June, said Thursday that he suspected all along that Oney, a former tenant there, was the culprit. Oney has not been charged in that fire.

"I'm glad he got caught and he's no longer on the prowl," Campbell said.

Contact Alan J. Keays at alan.keays@rutlandherald.com.