EX-FIRE CAPTAIN GIVEN LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR ARSONS.Byline: Howard Breuer Former Glendale fire Capt. John Orr For the chief of Strathclyde Police, see . John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is a convicted serial arsonist who was once a fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole for an arson spree, including a 1984 blaze at Ole's Home Center in South Pasadena South Pasadena (păs'ədē`nə), city (1990 pop. 23,936), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1888. Medical supplies, clothing, and transportation and electronic equipment are manufactured. that left four people dead. Luis Cetina, the brother of Jimmy Cetina, an Ole's employee killed in the fire, told Judge Robert Perry Robert Perry (born South Wales) is a television writer. He was script-editor on the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as well as writing for the television series Family Affairs and Is Harry on the Boat?. He has also worked on Emmerdale. he was disappointed Orr did not get the death penalty. The jury had deadlocked dead·lock n. 1. A standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions. 2. Sports A tied score. 3. 8-4 in favor of death during the penalty phase of the trial. ``We have no remorse for him, for he fails to be human,'' Cetina said. ``The families have compassion for his soul, but he must pay for his crime to society.'' Also bitter was Kim Deal Troidl. She lost her mother, Ada Deal, 50, of Alhambra, and son, Matthew Troidl, 2, who was found cradled in his grandmother's arms in the ruins of the 1984 Ole's fire. Employee Carolyn Kraus also was killed. ``Our family received the death penalty and he didn't,'' Troidl said. ``He gets to see his children and grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. . He gets to enjoy being alive.'' Orr's only comment during the downtown sentencing hearing was to say ``That's correct,'' when Perry asked him whether he filed a letter with the court. The letter only said Orr would not make a statement at the hearing, a court official said. Defense attorney Peter Giannini made a motion for a new trial motion for a new trial n. a request made by the loser for the case to be tried again on the basis that there were significant legal errors in the way the trial was conducted and/or the jury or the judge sitting without a jury obviously came to an incorrect result. , which Perry denied. Giannini asked Perry to consider that Orr's crimes and lack of any display of remorse stemmed from his mental illness and compulsion, factors that were discussed during the trial. ``When he was sentenced in federal court, the judge recommended he seek mental health assistance,'' Giannini said. ``It would have been helpful 25 years ago but unfortunately it didn't happen.'' Perry said he was giving Orr the maximum penalty allowed by law: four concurrent sentences concurrent sentence n. when a criminal defendant is convicted of two or more crimes, a judge sentences him/her to a certain period of time for each crime. Then out of compassion, leniency, plea bargaining, or the fact that the several crimes are interrelated, the of life without the possibility of parole, plus 20 years. ``The enormity e·nor·mi·ty n. pl. e·nor·mi·ties 1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness. 2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage. 3. of the defendant's crimes cannot be understated,'' Perry said. ``I believe the maximum penalty of life without parole is clearly appropriate.'' Giannini said he would appeal. Orr, 49, was convicted June 27 in the Ole's blaze and 20 other arsons, including a brush fire that damaged or destroyed 67 Glendale homes. A key piece of evidence in the trial was ``Points of Origin,'' an unpublished manuscript by Orr about a firefighter who gets sexual thrills by setting fires and watching them burn. Prosecutors said the tale was largely autobiographical, a claim Orr denied. The book describes a blaze at ``Cal's,'' a fictional hardware store in South Pasadena much like Ole's. In one passage, a woman and young child are killed in the fire. Orr already is serving time in federal prison in Lompoc for setting several fires in Central California Central California can refer to one of several divisions or regions of the U.S state of California:
When that sentence ends in approximately 2002, Orr will begin serving his time in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Cabral. He said although Perry imposed $90,000 restitution, the actual value of all the property damage caused by Orr is more than $20 million. |
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