DeWitt man sentenced in arsons

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By Steven Martens | Thursday, June 29, 2006 11:49 PM CDT | () comments

CLINTON, Iowa — Brent Smith tried to choke back tears as he read a letter during his sentencing hearing Thursday, apologizing for setting two fires in rural DeWitt last fall.

He asked Clinton County District Judge Charles Pelton to spare him a prison sentence so he could continue to seek counseling and turn his life around.

“I feel if given probation, I can keep doing positive in my life,” he said.

But Pelton, citing the seriousness of the fires and the fact that arson places property owners and firefighters in harm’s way, sentenced Smith to a prison sentence of up to 10 years on two counts of second-degree arson, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf had recommended concurrent sentences as part of a plea bargain. An additional count of second-degree burglary was dismissed as part of the agreement.

Smith, 23, of rural DeWitt, pleaded guilty May 18 to starting an Aug. 19 fire that caused $1,040 in damage to hay bales owned by Brad Tobey in the 3500 block of U.S. 30, and a Sept. 7 fire in a building at Barr Sales and Service, 2389 350th Ave., DeWitt. The fire destroyed the building and its contents, which included 15 new all-terrain vehicles, seven snowmobiles and pieces of farm equipment. Damage was estimated at $279,000.

Barr Sales and Service owner Ardith Barr told the court the damage to the building didn’t bother her as much as the loss of the work her late husband and late son had put into creating a space in the building to keep horses.

“It’s the memories that are gone,” she said. “Those are the things that I no longer have.”

In asking for a deferred judgment, Smith’s lawyer, David Zimmerman, told Pelton his client was a young man with strong family support who had minor brushes with the law in his past. Zimmerman said Smith had been fighting depression and alcoholism at the time he set the fires, but emphasized that those were not excuses for his actions.

Zimmerman said the victims might be better served by allowing Smith to stay out of prison to work and earn the money to pay them back.

Smith read a letter he had written to Barr and her family, saying he hoped they someday could forgive him and that he wished that night had never happened.

“I cannot blame the alcohol or the bottle,” he said. “It did not light the fire, I did.”

Smith was ordered to pay Tobey for the $1,040 in hay he destroyed to pay Barr $4,210 for losses not covered by her insurance.

He also was ordered to pay the Low Moor Fire Department $4,437.50 to cover the use of the department’s equipment to fight the fire at Barr Sales and Service. Wolf said the department was on the scene for about six hours.

Pelton commended Smith for getting treatment for his alcohol problem and urged him to use his time in prison to finish his education and learn a trade.

Smith has 30 days if he wishes to file an appeal.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.