Opinion ID: 776954
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exculpatory Evidence Related to the Arson-Insurance-Fraud Allegation

Text: 33 The prosecution turned over two reports describing the December 11, 1987 fire at Benn's trailer. The first was a February 12, 1988 report tentatively concluding that the fire was an accident. After this report was prepared, Deputy Fire Marshal Ted Thompson and Electrical Inspector Walter Erickson conducted a more thorough re-examination of the site. After the re-examination, Thompson and Erickson both conclusively determined that the fire in Benn's trailer was accidental. According to Erickson, the Coleman furnace in Benn's trailer was the same make and model as the one that he owned, and this particular make and model had been recalled by the manufacturer due to a flaw that causes fires. Moreover, Fire Marshal Thompson concluded that the fire was accidental because: 34 First, it is not uncommon for electrical heaters in older mobile homes to accidentally malfunction and cause fires. Second, there were no accelerants, such as gasoline in the trailer. Third, it is not uncommon for electrical heaters to malfunction in the winter.... Fourth, I opened up the front of the electrical heater and everything appeared to be in place; I observed nothing suspicious.... My fifth reason for determining the fire was accidental, not arson, was that I observed only one locale where the fire originated (the furnace), not multiple locales. Sixth, I saw no signs of forced entry, which are indicative of arson. 35 After the re-examination, a second and more detailed report was prepared on March 30, 1988. The second report, which was turned over to the defense, was misleading. Its only reference to the conclusions of Fire Marshal Thompson and Electrical Inspector Erickson was in a section stating that there was no fault or failure of the lead electrical wire and no evidence of tampering with the fuse panel. The March 30, 1988 report did not state that both the fire inspector and deputy marshal had concluded that the fire was accidental and could not have resulted from arson. Rather, it offered no definitive conclusion regarding the cause of the fire. It did not state that there had been a manufacturer's recall of this type of furnace and that it was the same type of furnace that Erickson had in his own home. To the contrary, it suggested that Coleman furnaces did not cause fires. Specifically, the March report stated that Al Pearson, the furnace technician, said that he could find and think of no situation in which a furnace[such as a Coleman] had caused a fire in a mobile home. Finally, the report did not relate the six reasons Fire Marshal Thompson gave for concluding that the fire was accidental.