May 4, 2014
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Legal twist in Phoenix FD investigation
By Matthew Casey
AZCentral.com
Attorneys for a Phoenix man charged with capital murder want jurors to know that two Phoenix Fire Department arson investigators are accused of lying under oath should prosecutors call them to testify during the trial, records show.
Dwandarrius Robinson's defense team filed a motion that, if approved by a judge, would require the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to disclose to jurors the criminal charges recommended against Phoenix Fire Captain Sam Richardson and Captain Fred Andes.
Charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his girlfriend and their unborn child at their Phoenix apartment. Police said Robinson bound Shaniqua Hall with duct tape and hand cuffs, doused her with lighter fluid and set her on fire.
Submittal of the motion, which is referred to as a Brady motion, follows an investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety that recommended Richardson be charged with six counts of false swearing and that Andes be charged with one count. The charges are based on the men's alleged testimonial inconsistencies regarding a May 2009 arson investigation.
Robinson's trial is not set to begin in Maricopa County Superior Court until March 2015.
A County Attorney's Office plans to file a response.
"Our office complies with all disclosure requirements and court orders," spokesman Jerry Cobb wrote in a statement.
Use of the term Brady refers to a U.S. Supreme Court case that found prosecutors must disclose evidence that could be favorable to the defense, including evidence that may hurt a law-enforcement officer's credibility while testifying, according to the motion.
The county attorney maintains a Brady list, a database of law enforcement officers with questionable integrity due to past behavior.
Cobb would not comment on whether Richardson and Andes have been recommended for the Brady list.
Hall was nine months pregnant when she died. Police said Robinson admitted to buying duct tape and lighter fluid that day and reportedly told investigators that he used to work in security when they found handcuff keys in his pocket.
According to the motion, Andes used his accelerant sniffing dog, Sadie, to inspect Robinson's clothing two days after the fatal fire. Sadie alerted to both of Robinson's shoes, his T-shirt and his shorts, the motion said. Lab tests later showed that an unidentifiable flammable liquid was present on one of the shoes, but none of the other items, the motion said.
Robinson's attorneys interviewed the lab analyst who said he wasn't sure whether the liquid was actually an accellerant or a product used in manufacturing the shoe. But Andes said in his report that dogs like Sadie have been proven more accurate than labs, the motion said.
Andes made similar statements during the 2009 arson investigation, according to the DPS investigation accusing him of lying under oath. In May, he told DPS investigators that he did not compile lab-analysis results because it could show that his dog was "right half the time."
The Phoenix Fire Department recently placed the men and their supervisor, Fire Marshal Jack Ballentine, on administrative leave with full pay and benefits. It also launched an administrative investigation that is expected to last up to 120 working days, said Shelly Jamison, a Fire Department spokeswoman. Deputy Chief David Carter has been named acting fire marshal.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...osed/13610915/
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