Hearing may
decide charges in fire deaths
Court to consider whether Courtney can
be charged with arson and murder.
By Tim Bragg / The Fresno Bee
February 22, 2007
The viability of murder charges against a Tulare man
charged with setting brush fires that led to the deaths of
two airborne firefighters could hinge on the outcome of a
hearing today in Tulare County Superior Court.
At issue: whether enough evidence exists for Patrick Ryan
Courtney, 29, to be tried on arson charges. If not, can he
still be prosecuted under the state's felony murder rule?
Courtney was bound over for trial in December by a
Porterville judge who ruled there was enough evidence for
two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of
setting a forest fire in a reckless manner, along with
several other special charges.
But the judge said not enough evidence existed for arson
charges, saying Courtney tried to put out the fires he
allegedly set during Labor Day weekend.
A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
spotter plane directing fire ground crews battling those
fires crashed Sept. 6, killing Visalian Rob Stone, a Cal
Fire battalion chief, and contract pilot George "Sandy"
Willett of Hanford.
Courtney told investigators he walked into Bear Creek
Drainage near Balch Park in the Tulare County mountains
Sept. 4 after getting into a fight with his girlfriend.
He told investigators he spent the night in the canyon,
lighting several fires to keep warm, scare away animals and
signal his location.
Prosecutors refiled arson charges against Courtney. But
Courtney's attorney, John Jackson, said the arson charges
shouldn't have been refiled because of the judge's ruling
in December.
Jackson filed a motion earlier this month to set aside all
charges against Courtney. He said the felony murder rule
doesn't apply unless the arson also is charged. He said
there is no case law on whether setting a fire recklessly
can be the basis for such a murder charge.
The attorney said the effort to charge Courtney with arson
and murder comes down to politics.
"When a firefighter dies, see it as similar to a police
officer dying in the line of duty. They see it as one of
their own has died," Jackson said.
Prosecutor Tim Ward denied any bias. He said that while Cal
Fire investigators participated, the inquiry was led by an
investigator from the U.S. Forest Service.
Ward said Friday he couldn't comment directly on Jackson's
request because the District Attorney's Office hasn't filed
its response. But he added enough evidence existed to
refile arson charges based on information contained in the
transcript of December's preliminary hearing.
Jackson's motion also looks at what case law applies to
Courtney's situation. He said Courtney couldn't have
foreseen how setting fires he deemed necessary for safety
could have led to the deaths of Stone and Willett.
A preliminary report on the plane crash by the National
Transportation Safety Board didn't provide a firm cause,
but indicated the airplane may have been flying too low,
causing it to strike tall trees in the area.
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