PORTLAND, Maine — A civilian employee of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard arrested in connection with the May 23 blaze that caused $400 million in damage to the submarine USS Miami made his initial court appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday afternoon.

PORTLAND, Maine — A civilian employee of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard arrested in connection with the May 23 blaze that caused $400 million in damage to the submarine USS Miami made his initial court appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday afternoon.



Casey J. Fury, 24, a Portsmouth resident and Portsmouth High School Class of 2006 graduate, was a civilian employee working aboard the submarine as a painter and sandblaster, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Maine. He was arrested Friday at the shipyard on two counts of arson “within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Thomas Delahanty II.



Fury, who had been held at Cumberland County Jail since his arrest, appeared in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday afternoon. Flanked by U.S. marshals, Fury entered the court room wearing an orange prisoner's uniform with his hands cuffed behind his back.



He did not enter a plea during the hearing in front of Magistrate Judge John H. Rich III, nor did he have bail set. Fury is being detained at the request of the government and will appear in court again Wednesday, Aug. 1, at 9:30 a.m. for a combined preliminary examination (probable cause hearing) and detention hearing, at which bail could be set.



Rich informed Fury that the prosecution had filed a motion suggesting that no set of conditions exist that would ensure Fury's appearance in court and the safety of the community if he is released on bail. The judge said Fury would have to present evidence to the contrary in order to receive bail.



Fury spoke very little during the hearing, only telling the judge he could not afford an attorney. Rich reviewed a financial declaration and agreed Fury could not afford a lawyer. Federal defender David Beneman, who accompanied Fury to the hearing, was appointed as his lawyer.



After the hearing, Fury spoke briefly in Beneman's ear before U.S. marshals affixed handcuffs to his wrists and led him from the hearing room. Beneman said he is not at liberty to discuss pending cases. Four people who appeared to be friends or family of Fury's also did not respond to requests for comment.



Delahanty held a brief meeting with the media outside the courthouse after the hearing, but he was unwilling to comment directly about evidence, Fury's employment at the shipyard or his criminal history. The federal charges against Fury carry the possibility of life imprisonment, which Delahanty said was not due to the significant monetary damage to the USS Miami.



“Any arson is a serious case,” he said, noting the potential for injury to others. “It's a crime of violence. It's obviously a very serious case.”



Delahanty confirmed Fury was apprehended Friday at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard but the prosecutor said he was not sure whether Fury was working at the time of his arrest.

Court documents show Fury has admitted to causing not only the submarine fire at the shipyard's Dry Dock #2, but also a small fire at the same dry dock on June 16.



Fury has admitted to federal agents that he lit rags on fire with a lighter to start the fire on the Miami, then lit alcohol wipes to spark the second fire, according to court records.



Investigators first interviewed Fury the day after the Miami fire, on May 24, according to the affidavit filed in federal court. At that time, Fury told investigators he had no involvement in the submarine fire.



Nearly a month later, on June 18, Fury was interviewed in regards to the second fire. On June 25, he gave a sworn statement in which he denied any involvement in either of the two fires.



When interviewed again on July 18, Fury admitted to setting the second fire, according to court records. Fury reportedly told investigators he had been working in the dry dock area as the “safety watch” prior to setting the fire. The Portsmouth man told investigators he had been texting his former girlfriend and became anxious over their conversation.



“At some point, he began texting his former girlfriend and attempted to convince her that the guy she started seeing was not just a friend like she had been claiming,” according to the affidavit. “Fury explained that he became anxious over the text conversation with his ex-girlfriend and wanted to leave work."



The affidavit states that at about 6:30 p.m. the night of the second fire, Fury began pacing in the dry dock area and eventually walked toward the hull near the back of the submarine, where he told investigators he found a bag of alcohol wipes.



Fury then removed the alcohol wipes from the plastic bag and stuffed them into a corner around fire resistant wood being used as a support structure for the submarine. He then told investigators that he set the wipes on the wood and set a piece of plywood over the wipes.



“He subsequently lit the isopropanol wipes on fire with a lighter (and) returned to the Main Ballast Tank area,” according to the affidavit.



Despite admitting his actions in relation to the second fire during the July 19 interview with authorities, Fury continued to deny any involvement in the fire aboard the Miami.



Only when he submitted to a lie detector test on July 20 did Fury finally admit his involvement in the submarine fire.



“(The agent) detected that Fury was being untruthful in his denial and he so advised Fury,” according to the affidavit. “Fury then admitted to (the agent) that he had caused the May 23 fire.”



Fury told investigators that he was working in the torpedo room the afternoon of the Miami fire. Fury said his anxiety started getting really bad at about 5:30 p.m., when he grabbed his cigarettes and lighter and left the torpedo room.



After entering one of the state rooms aboard the submarine, Fury told investigators that he then lit a bag of rags on fire with his lighter then returned to his work.



“The reason he set the fire was in order to get out of work,” according to the affidavit.

Fury told investigators he failed to admit his involvement in the submarine fire because he was “scared and everything was blurry to him and his memory was impaired due to his anxiety and the medications he was taking at the time.”



He then told investigators he was taking prescription medication for anxiety and depression, including Celexa, Klonopin and Ambien.



The affidavit states Fury checked himself in to an in-patient mental health facility on June 21, then checked out two days later. Delahanty said a mental health evaluation is a matter that will be considered at a later date.



Fury has been charged with two counts of arson for “willfully and maliciously” setting fire and burning a vessel, namely the USS Miami, and “willfully and maliciously” setting fire to and burning building materials and supplies located in and around the Miami.



The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the lead agency in the investigation.



NCIS agents executed a search warrant at an Osprey Drive home just after midnight July 19, according to the Portsmouth police log. According to an Internet search, a person named Kathy O. Fury lives at 79 Osprey Drive.



Staff writer Joey Cresta contributed to this report.