United States v. Pritchard

964 F.3d 513 (6th Cir. 2020)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A 911 caller reported a fire at D's residence. Firefighters, including Assistant Chief Charles Sparks, arrived on the scene. The house was engulfed in 'a lot of fire, a lot of flames.' During the firefighting, Sparks lost consciousness. Personnel at the scene administered CPR to Sparks and called for an ambulance. Although the emergency workers tried to revive Sparks, who was not breathing and did not have a pulse, he never regained consciousness. Eight days later, Sparks died after being taken off life support. Before fighting the fire, Sparks suffered from various medical ailments. In 2005, Sparks had a heart attack that required inserting a stint in his coronary artery. Sparks also suffered from coronary disease, hypertension, and diabetes-all of which are risk factors for a heart attack. Around the time of his death, Sparks had not been taking his prescribed heart medication or insulin to treat his diabetes. D had arranged for his wife (Brandi), her children, and his dog to be out of the house that morning. Later, Brandi's children would testify that D showed them photographs of the fire he took from his phone and that D implied he started the fire. And Dale Clark, a longtime acquaintance of D and Brandi, also testified that D insinuated that he started the fire with Brandi's help. Finally, Sherry Waggoner, a friend of the Pritchards, recounted overhearing the couple argue about the fire. She testified that D claimed to be 'the genius in the project [and] . . . the one that master-planned it.' Sherry's husband, Robbie Waggoner, confirmed this conversation and that D took credit for the arson. Later that day, when D picked Brandi up from work he instructed her on 'what [she] needed to say when [they] got [home].' D wanted Brandi to tell investigators that he had spent the night in Louisville. And that's the same story he gave to the police. D's alibi did not withstand scrutiny. Cell tower records revealed that D had not been in Louisville on the night of the fire. Brandi bought a $50,000 insurance policy for the house six days before the fire. To persuade Brandi, D recounted previous fires that he started to collect insurance money, including burning down a house owned by Tena Gowen, the couple's close friend. He also mentioned setting a car belonging to Whitney Clark, his niece, on fire to collect insurance money. D also discussed setting his own car on fire, as well as the home of David Newcomb. D eventually resorted to threats of violence to coerce Brandi not to confess. A federal grand jury charged D and Brandi with Malicious Destruction of Property by Fire, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i) that permits punishment for arson causing death, and Mail Fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Brandi pleaded guilty and D went to trial. Dr. Thomas Hales concluded that firefighting 'triggered' Sparks's fatal heart attack. But he could not conclude, given Sparks's history, that Sparks would not have had a heart attack independent of the fire. Dr. Divyesh Bhakta, who treated Sparks after his heart attack, testified that Sparks's untreated diabetes and failure to take his heart medicine produced 'a number of risk factors[.]' He also could not conclude whether the fire and not these risk factors, caused Sparks's heart attack. D was found guilty of arson causing death. D appealed.