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DA asks for unification of arson cases

By Jennifer Harr 3 min read

Several days before the scheduled start of Harry Collins’ arson trial, a Fayette County judge was asked to determine if all of the arson counts filed against Collins will be heard by one jury. District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon asked that the two cases filed against Collins, which encompass 12 charges, be heard together. Collins’ attorney, Assistant Public Defender Thomas Shaffer, said the five-month time frame the charges encompass is too long of a time span for jurors to consider both cases together.

Police allege Collins, 58, of Connellsville set fires at the Pujia Hair Salon on Church Place and an Arch Street apartment building on Nov. 29, 2004, a Race Street home on Aug. 16, 2004, and the Wesley United Methodist Church on Feb. 23, 2005. All of the fires were in Connellsville.

Authorities first charged Collins with the church fire last year, but after further investigation, they filed charges against Collins in the remaining four arsons.

Because the cases were filed separately, one court docket covers the church fire and a second covers the remaining four.

Vernon told Judge Gerald R. Solomon that many of the same witnesses would be called to testify on behalf of the prosecution for all of the arsons.

“We would have so much repetitive testimony that, for judicial economy, we believe these cases should be consolidated,” Vernon said.

Shaffer argued that presenting testimony about five different alleged arsons through about 40 defense and prosecution witnesses would only serve to confuse a jury.

The church fire case has 17 witnesses, and some of those will offer testimony about the other fires. Shaffer said there are an additional 15 witnesses specific to the other alleged arsons.

Because he does not anticipate the case lasting for more than a few days, Shaffer said jurors probably would not be able to take notes. Without the help of notes now allowed during trials that last more than two days, “We don’t believe that the jurors will be able to keep everything clear in their minds,” Shaffer said.

“The number of witnesses has nothing to do with the trial of this case,” Vernon countered.

She noted that in a recent murder trial, prosecutors listed 115 potential witnesses, but only 45 actually were called to testify. That is typical in criminal trials, where prosecutors give the defense notice of any potential witness they may call during the course of a trial.

Vernon said there is “a great deal of overlap” in the cases because Collins made statements to police about the different alleged arsons during his many interviews with police.

Shaffer also argued that presenting the cases together is tantamount to piggybacking strong evidence to try and bolster weaker evidence. He argued that prosecutors want jurors to draw the conclusion that because Collins was charged with setting one fire, he likely set all those he is charged with.

He argued prosecutors are trying to show “if someone robs a bank on Monday, they robbed a bank of Friday” by consolidating the cases.

While testimony from a defense-requested psychologist indicated that Collins’ was mildly mentally retarded, Shaffer said after the motions court hearing that he did not plan to present a mentally ill defense at Collins’ trial.

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