Mock hearing tests investigators' court skills

It looked like an open-and-shut case of arson.

The main suspect was loitering around the fire scene, drinking a beer of the same label as a bottle found near the origin.

A fluorescent orange cap found on the ground had his initials stamped inside.

He had firecrackers in the back of his pickup truck similar to the spent incendiary device investigators believe started the fire.

Firefighters observed him at the scene as they arrived to extinguish the wildland fire.

He admitted seeing the smoke and driving back to the scene to observe before he decided whether report the fire.

A witness who was camping nearby identified him.

All the evidence looked good on paper, but in the hands of a skilled defense attorney, a novice fire investigator's testimony can unravel in seconds.

Students in an intensive week-long training concluded their classwork by taking the witness stand in Douglas District Court on Friday in a mock hearing.

Douglas County deputy district attorneys Erik Levin and Tom Gregory acted as prosecutor and defense attorney.

East Fork Fire & Paramedics Capt. Terry Taylor offered the students a few pointers in what he called "investigator etiquette."

"On the stand, you may get gored, or tattooed in places you don't appreciate. It's the defense attorney's job to place you in a box," Taylor said.

He told the students to be honest.

"Your personal reputation is king. If you get caught lying, you're done," Taylor said. "The magic words are, 'I don't know,' 'May I see my report?' and 'I can't answer that with a yes or no. It would leave a false impression.'"

One of the students who took the stand began wilting under Gregory's questions as it became obvious he made a mistake in his report.

"He (Gregory) has thoroughly pulled the rug out from under you," Taylor said. "Just admit you made a mistake. What juror isn't going to love you for that."

Participants were coached to not get angry or argue with the defense attorney.

"You don't want to get in a back-and-forth with the defense attorney. All you're doing is prolonging the testimony. I love that as a defense attorney," Gregory said.

"Always err on the side of honesty," Taylor said. "If nothing else, the fact that you're here has brought extreme discomfort to the defendant. We may not get him this time, but eventually we will."

The class was taught by the Nevada chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators.

Instructors included Taylor, Greg Liddicoat, Bureau of Land Management; Capt. Chuck Ritter, Central Lyon Fire Department; Duane Lemons, Carson City Fire Department; investigators Ray Pagni and Martin Azevedo, Nevada State Fire Marshal's Office.

Students represented the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Menlo Park (Calif.) Fire Department, U.S. Marine Corps Mountain Warefare Training Center Fire Department, Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District, Lake Valley Fire Department, East Fork Fire and Paramedics Districts and Schroeder Fire Investigation.

WILDLAND FIRE INVESTIGATORS TRAINING CLASS

Geoffrey Aus, Danville, Calif.

Bob Child, South Lake Tahoe

Spencer Gregory, Elko

Gareth Harris, South Lake Tahoe

Benjamin Hughes, Upper Lake, Calif.

Jill Jensen, Elko

Matt Murphy, Elko

Martin Orona, Las Vegas

Jonathan Palma, Elko

Kristin Puryear, Elko

Derrick Rader, Battle Mountain

Tim Scherer, Bridgeport, Calif.

Robert Schroeder, Minneapolis, Minn.

David Thomas, Gardnerville

Greg Uhlig, Elko

Paul Unterbrink, Sparks