DARTMOUTH — A Mass. State Police investigation into the fire at Hawthorne Country Club in Dartmouth in May has led to the arrest and indictment of a New Bedford man, state fire services officials and the Bristol County DA announced Thursday.
In a press release from the Department of Fire Services, officials said Shawn Medeiros, 31, of New Bedford, was taken into custody Thursday morning by members of the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office and the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section.
Medeiros was indicted by a Bristol County Grand Jury Thursday on a charge of burning of a building connected to a May 7, 2023 at the vacant Hawthorne Country Club, according to a press release from Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn’s office.
The May 7, 2023 fire — deemed suspicious in the days that followed — left the club house building a total loss, according to the release. As recalled in the release, the fire was first reported at about 1:30 pm that afternoon and took about two hours to extinguish. “Based on preliminary findings, investigators determined that the fire was intentionally set and began seeking the public’s assistance,” the release reads. “The investigation continued since that time, culminating in this morning’s indictment and arrest.”
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Medeiros was arraigned Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court, according to the release.
