The former Allen County volunteer firefighter accused of setting a series of grass fires in Carlyle and Geneva townships was in Magistrate Court Wednesday for a status hearing, the first step in what could be a long litigation process.
Lee Daniel Berg, 19, facing 21 felony counts of arson, has been locked in the Allen County jail since being arrested at the scene of a Sept. 13 fire north of Iola along Utah Road. Bail was set at $210,000.
At Wednesday’s status hearing, Allen County Attorney Wade Bowie asked Magistrate Judge Thomas Saxton to reschedule the status hearing to allow the attorney’s office time to contact the victims in the case. The task could take some time given the 21 fires Berg is accused of setting between Aug. 16 and the day of his arrest, Bowie told Judge Saxton.
“I am in the process of speaking with the victims of the offenses. I have quite a few people I need to speak with and track down before I’m prepared to proceed,” Bowie said.
The request was granted and Berg’s status hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 7 at 9:30 a.m. He will remain in jail.
Although both Bowie and Jay Witt, Berg’s court-appointed council, were tight-lipped about details of the case when approached following the hearing, Allen County Undersheriff Bryan Murphy, the arresting officer, told the Register in September that technology was a major factor in the investigation, allowing area law enforcement to place Berg at the scene of at least one of the fires.
Based on Kansas sentencing guidelines, which consider the nature of the crime and the criminal background of the accused, Witt said his client would be presumed to receive probation.
“(Sentencing guidelines) kind of dictate what the presumed punishment for a different crime is. That sentence, by law, is really outside of the control of even the judge,” he told the Register Wednesday afternoon. “The indications that we have is Mr. Berg has never had any prior convictions of any sort. That’s a factor that will influence how the law applies to this case.”
Bowie wouldn’t comment on the probability of Berg facing prison time, only said Berg “needs to have his day in court.”
Altogether 28 arson fires were investigated in Allen County between Aug. 16 and Sept. 13, resulting in the destruction of thousands of dollars worth of property.
One victim reported a loss of 250 big bales of hay, valued at $25,000. A vacant farm house also was destroyed during the string of fires, as well as a bridge on the Prairie Spirit Trail. The bridge damage was estimated as high as $30,000.
Berg’s hearing delayed
