A former Quinnipiac University student arrested and suspended last month following an alleged on-campus arson was arraigned in Meriden Superior Court Monday.
Former first-year student Maxwell Mesh will enter Connecticut’s accelerated rehabilitation program after allegedly participating in a Halloween arson in a Mount Carmel Campus residence hall. The court-monitored intervention program is designed to offer certain first-time offenders the opportunity to have low-level charges dismissed.
Hamden police arrested Mesh on Nov. 16 on criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges after he allegedly used a butane lighter to burn a dorm room peephole in Dana English Hall, per police records obtained by The Chronicle.
An Oct. 31 police report indicates that six doors, an electrical outlet, a soap dispenser and a toilet seat in the first-year residence hall sustained visible burn damage. Police said the arson caused an estimated $1,000 in damage.
Mesh was one of two students arrested in connection with the apparent arson.
The other, 18-year-old Dimitrios Panayotopoulos, faces reckless burning, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Meriden Superior Court on Dec. 20.
Police said Panayotopoulos “admitted to burning QU property” but told the responding officer he was “not responsible for all the burn damages.”
A Nov. 2 police report obtained by The Chronicle indicates that investigators subsequently used video footage captured of the alleged arson to identify Mesh as a second participant.
Mesh admitted to engaging in the burning and confirmed to investigators that “it was him in the video,” according to the report.
Police said Mesh — who reportedly appeared “remorseful for his actions” — implicated a third participant in the Halloween arson. However, no other student faces charges in connection with the incident.
John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, confirmed that both Mesh and Panayotopoulos are “no longer enrolled” as students at Quinnipiac.
“The university takes very seriously any action that could jeopardize the safety of our students,” Morgan wrote. “We will act swiftly against anyone found responsible for this or similar conduct. Vandalism and destruction are simply not consistent with the well-established culture of our university community.”
Alexandra Martinakova contributed to this reporting.
CORRECTION 1/28/24: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Mesh was expelled from Quinnipiac. He was suspended from the university for 18 months.
