Home Salt Lake City Press Releases 2009 Parma Volunteer Firefighter Found Guilty on Six Counts of Arson on Public Lands
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Parma Volunteer Firefighter Found Guilty on Six Counts of Arson on Public Lands

U.S. Attorney’s Office January 28, 2009
  • District of Idaho (208) 334-1211

Clyde Dewayne Holmes, Jr., 23, a Parma resident and volunteer for the Parma Fire Department, has been found guilty by an Idaho federal jury on six felony counts of illegally setting fire on public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Payette and Canyon Counties during July and August 2007, U.S. Attorney Tom Moss announced today. The fires burned close to 1,200 acres of private and public lands. Fire officials estimate suppression costs at over $100,000. This was notably the first federal jury trial and conviction of an arsonist on BLM lands in Idaho.

Idaho BLM Special Agent Kyle Gandiaga said a similar pattern was observed in each of the seven wildfires, which started on July 10, 2007. “All of the fires were ignited within a fivemile radius on public lands northeast of Parma, Idaho, in dry, highly flammable conditions. Each was ignited in the afternoon, during the hottest part of the day, and quickly spread through the dry cheatgrass, shrubs and sagebrush.

“This was a serious crime not only because it endangered the lives of firefighters, land users and area homeowners, but because the fires were lit by a firefighter – a public servant who was trusted by the public to fight fires, not light them,” Gandiaga added. “Other firefighters and BLM investigators were forced to spend countless hours suppressing and investigating these fires during one of Idaho's busiest fire seasons in state history.”

Testimony during the four-day trial linked Holmes to the fires through physical evidence, including tire and boot prints, statements of eye witnesses, and cell phone and employment records. Investigators determined that each of the fires ignited shortly after the defendant got off work each day in Parma. They later learned that the defendant was the person who actually reported two of the fires, although he did not identify himself by name or mention that he was a volunteer member of the Parma fire department, which would respond to the scene.

“We aggressively investigate all human-caused wildfires, especially when there is evidence that the fires were intentionally set,” said BLM Special Agent in Charge Loren Good. “These wildfires threatened at least two houses, several radio towers, a shooting range and nearby corn and grain fields.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monte Stiles praised the efforts of the BLM case agents and fire investigators. “We owe a debt of gratitude to those who dedicated themselves to apprehending a serial arsonist. The investigative team included some of the most dedicated public servants I have had the pleasure of working with. Thanks should also go out to the private citizens who assisted in the investigative effort.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Land Management were assisted in the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory, the U.S. Marshals Service, Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, Payette County Sheriff’s Office, and Middleton Fire Department.

Sentencing is set for April 30, 2009, in Boise, Idaho. Holmes faces a prison term of five years on each of the six counts. A maximum fine of $250,000 may also be imposed on each count. Fire suppression cost reimbursement may also be ordered.

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