AUBURN — Police over the weekend arrested a local man and charged him with setting three fires in the downtown area earlier in the month.

Johnny Briggs, 52, of 6 Laurel St. was charged with three counts of arson and a charge of aggravated criminal mischief.

Investigators said the fires were set Oct. 14 with fire crews scrambling to one blaze after another beginning at about 8 p.m. that evening.

Fires were doused at 7 Riverside Drive, then at 20 Great Falls Plaza and then a trash can and dumpster were set ablaze behind 68 Main St. Briggs was arrested Saturday night after a police investigation led to him as a suspect.

Briggs has a minor criminal history in the area that includes a recent conviction for theft for which he served a week in jail in early summer.

Briggs was being held at the Androscoggin County Jail on $15,000 cash bail Monday.