Green Motors Fire – Epilogue

So I finally have gotten around to writing the fourth part of my 3-part story. Just the fact that I have taken this to 4 parts has been enough to discourage me from finishing. However, if I don’t get it done this week it will be mid to late August before I do and it’s already been too long since I posted Part 3. So here goes. The events that followed the trial and acquittal of Joe Green transpired over many months but will be condensed here as if it was only a few weeks.

Once I learned that I would be a witness in this trial I was informed that my travel and lodging expenses would be covered by the City of Bishop, as I was acting on their behalf when the fire occurred. Although I had plenty of vacation time as an employee of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area I decided to ask the city if they would be covering my wages that I would be losing from taking off 3 or 4 days from work. There simple answer was “no”, you are a volunteer firefighter.

I questioned that decision. There were full time police dispatchers that had spent their entire time sitting in a rolling chair in front of the radios who were also being required to testify. They would received travel & living, PLUS lost wages. I protested. They didn’t budge. I asked them the following question. “If I was self employed and had been asked to take off days at a time to testify, there would be no compensation?” The answer was yes and if you don’t like it, you can resign from the fire department. Well, the end result was that I took time off, with pay, from my job but I was not happy with the way it had been handled.

Months after the trial had ended I decided to contact the CSFA (California State Firefighters Association) about my concerns. I was put in touch with the liaison to the Volunteer Departments. After many phone calls and letters written, explaining the situation the CSFA committee for volunteers decided this was a cause worth championing. I worked for many months with a state Senator (name long forgotten) and his staff person, Terry, to get a bill authored and to a committee for consideration. The bill would require city and counties to pay volunteer firefighters for lost wages when they are required to testify in court proceedings stemming from their volunteer firefighting efforts.

In the spring of 1992 I was invited to come to Sacramento to speak to this committee. Terry wanted to be sure that I came in full dress uniform, as this would give some level of importance to my efforts. I took Charlotte and Cara with me. They were 11 and 9 respectively. We ended up staying at the late Cory Wolfersberger, Suzie’s brother’s house and were very comfortable there. One side note about this trip is that we traveled to Sacramento via Stateline, Nevada. While in route the discussion between the girls and me was about eating at a buffet. We stopped at Harrah’s there and learned that their lunch would be $12 each. Mine was $16. That was a lot of money then but we went ahead and entered the buffet. My kids have always been good eaters and will try just about anything. Let me just say, they got my money’s worth.

The next day we arrived at this senator’s office and were given tours and other fun stuff prior to my testimony. We had a great lunch in a nice Chinese restaurant not too far from the capitol.

Testimony came and went. Travel home was uneventful. Within days I learned that the bill was passed and that this senator would continue to move it forward and I was thanked for my efforts. I wish that I had written down more information about which senator, bill number etc. but at the time I didn’t see the significance in it. Today it feels good have fought back and won.

Green Motors Fire – The Trial (Part Three)

The very next morning, the second day after the fire, I found myself being deposed. As I sat at the Bishop Police Department interview room, which could be called an interrogation room depending on which side of the law you found yourself on, it was very hard to be comfortable. I knew that I was there as a witness only and not as a suspect of any sort but it still was difficult to relax with both Scotty Baker, a commissioned police officer along with his fire investigator status, and Detective Bruce Dishion sitting across the table from me.

There were some welcoming comments and niceties designed to help me relax, then "click". The old cassette recorder was turned on. Introductions were made so that anyone listening would know who was being recorded. They asked me to introduce myself, my role as a fire fighter and acknowledge that I had given them permission to record the deposition. Once that was over, the questions began to fly.

For the next 2 hours I was asked and gave answers to any question that either of the interviewers asked. There seemed to be little formal process to this as either would ask any thing that came to mind. When it was all said and done I was thanked and allowed to go about my day. I didn’t know it at the time but this interview had produced over 18 pages of typed text. Somewhere I have a copy of it, on yellow paper for some reason. Was that standard for a deposition or just the color that was left in the copy machine? It’s an answer I’ll probably never get.

My testimony in the deposition along with much more evidence resulted in the arrest of Joseph Green for the crime of “Arson”. The theory of the County Prosecutor’s office was that the business was in debt to the tune of approximately $150k. They believed that the evidence showed that Joe Green had entered the place of business just after closing and had poured a flammable liquid in and around the parts department before lighting it. It was their theory that since the bank owned the autos for sale and the building was leased, the parts department was the only thing literally owned by the Green family that could be cashed in for insurance. The value of the parts department inventory was approximately $160k.

The investigators were convinced that what I had witnessed was remnants of the flammable liquid pour that had not ignited until I was there to witness it. Pockmarks and burn patterns seemed to show evidence of what I had witnessed as well.

The arrest of Joe Green was big news in our little town of Bishop, California. Everyone in town and possibly the entire county of 18,000 residents seemed to have an opinion on whether he was guilty or innocent.

Before the trial could start the defense was successful in getting a change of venue and the trial was moved to Ventura County. I do agree that it would have been impossible for the accused to get a fair trial in Inyo County, although before I received my subpoena to testify for the prosecution I knew that a trip to Ventura would be in my future travel plans.

There were about 6 of us, from me all the way to Assistant Fire Chief, Stan Lloyd who were called to testify. John Williamson, who entered the fire service with me in a class of 8 back in 1984 was one of the 6. Because of when the prosecution expected us to testify we traveled together and shared a hotel room. We were to travel in Engine 11 to Ventura and back. Engine 11, was really nothing more than a red pickup truck with lights and siren that the chief drove from time to time. Chief Phil Moxley drove his personal pickup most of the time so Eng 11 was often used for hauling iced pop and water out to a fire scene. We were happy to use it, either way.

On our way to the courthouse we heard over the radio LA County Fire dispatch a bunch of trucks and engine companies to a structure fire. One of those dispatched was “Engine 11, Please respond”. John looked at me, I looked at him and said “hey we’re Engine 11, right?” In our stupidity we lit up the lights and siren and drove code three, to nowhere of course, weaving in and out of traffic through Ventura. Had we been discovered there would have been serious consequences, the least would have been removal from the Bishop Fire Department. We were young and dumb and didn’t always think things out, but we had fun for more than 2 miles before we decided to “cancel” our self-imposed dispatch.

The trial was a blur. I only saw my side of the testimony. I was never able to see anyone else testify or hear any other questions by prosecution or defense. The bottom line here is that the defense prevailed. Joe Green was found “not guilty”. The defense was able to put doubt in the minds of the jury that what I saw was actually fuel poured by the defendant. The claim by defense experts was that what I saw was actually petroleum based roofing products that had dropped down from the roof the floor as the fire progressed.

I wasn't troubled at all. I had done my duty and told what I had seen. The jurors had done theirs. That’s the system.

TO BE CONTINUED: Green Motors Fire – The Aftermath (Part Four)