Arson

A volunteer firefighter in Iberia Parish, Louisiana is facing charges that he set a vacant house on fire on the 4th of July. Kentrelle Beasley, Jr., age 18, was charged with simple arson following an investigation by the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office.

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A volunteer firefighter from Indiana is facing arson-related charges in a series of fires that occurred overnight. Jake Dougherty, 18, a volunteer with the Whiteland Fire Department, is accused of setting three homes that were under construction on fire in the early morning hours today.

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The Iowa Supreme Court handed down a ruling last week dismissing four counts of arson against a volunteer firefighter, holding that a plea agreement in an earlier arson case was a binding contract that prosecutors could not simply rescind. The case involved Chance Ryan Beres, a volunteer firefighters with the Montezuma Fire Department.

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A volunteer firefighter in Kentucky is facing charges that he set two recent fires. Jeffrey Knouse, a member of the Lincoln County Volunteer Fire Department, is being held in Lincoln County Regional Jail on $10,000 bond. The charges were brought by the Kentucky State Police.

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A federal court has dismissed a wrongful arrest and prosecution suit filed by a man who spent nine-months in prison for a 2013 fatal fire in Schenectady, New York. Robert Bulter was charged with setting the May 2, 2013 fire that killed four people including three children, and severely injured a 5-year old.

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The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld a sentencing decision by Renville County District Court in an arson case. The case is not one I typically cover here in Fire Law, but it offers an insight into the factors that courts consider when sentencing.

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A New York man who served over eight years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of arson, will be allow to continue his false arrest, malicious prosecution and civil rights suit against numerous defendants including two fire departments and four firefighters.

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A black Illinois fire lieutenant who was acquitted of arson charges last year for a 2015 fire has filed suit in US District Court alleging that state and local investigators fabricated evidence and tried to frame him. Lt. Samuel Wilson of the Country Club Hills Fire Department was charged with setting fire to a sports bar in Sauk Village.

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A Kentucky man who served 12 years for an arson-related murder that he was subsequently cleared of, has filed suit against a number of arson investigators and law enforcement officers who he claims “conspired to frame him for various offenses, including… capital murder… attempted murder … and first-degree of arson.”

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A lawsuit filed against the City of Phoenix by man who spent 14 months in jail on arson charges for an accidental fire, has been dismissed. Carl Vincent Ball Caples claimed the city violated his civil rights when investigators charged him with arson.

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A volunteer firefighter from Kansas has been arrested for setting two grass fires last week. Samuel Gilbert, 22, is facing two counts of arson as an investigation unfolds looking into a series of suspicious fires stretching back to 2019. Gilbert has been a member of the Riley County Fire Department since 2017.

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A woman who pled guilty to setting the fire that killed three Wilmington, Delaware firefighters, has been sentenced to thirty years in prison. Beatriz Fana-Ruiz was sentenced last week for the September 24, 2016 fire that killed Lt. Christopher Leach, FF Jerry Fickes, and FF Ardythe Hope.

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The Ohio Court of Appeals has ruled that the state fire marshal should have release a redacted version of an investigative report into the cause and origin of a fire that killed a firefighter in 2015 to The Cincinnati Enquirer in Dec. 2016. Hamilton firefighter Patrick Wolterman died fighting a house fire on Dec. 28, 2015.

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A volunteer firefighter from Indiana has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for setting three fires in a vacant house last year. William Andrew Desch pled guilty to three counts of arson and burglary. Desch was a member of the Hanover Township Volunteer Fire Company.

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