Dangerousness hearing to continue Thursday in arson suspect’s case

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

A dangerousness hearing is expected to continue Thursday in Brockton District Court in the case of a 45-year-old Middleborough man accused of setting fire to an unfinished building in West Bridgewater and suspected in dozens of other fires in the region.

The hearing began today with nearly three hours of testimony from State Police arson investigators about their probe into the activities of Mark Sargent.

A judge was also trying to determine whether to set bail for Sargent’s stepson, Jeanmarie Louis, 23, who is also charged with the West Bridgewater arson, while authorities probe whether he was involved in other fires.

The two men were arrested last week near the site of the West Bridgwater blaze. The arrests came after police secretly planted a GPS tracking device on vehicles owned by one of the defendants.

John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.