A Derby man has until September to decide whether to plead guilty to setting fire to a building he lived in or take the case to trial.
In the meantime, his lawyer said Tuesday he’s hiring an arson expert to conduct an independent review of the evidence in the case, and a prosecutor said the man may soon face charges in federal court.
Background
Edward Minerly, 51, faces charges of first-degree arson, first-degree reckless endangerment, and first-degree criminal mischief in connection with a March 22, 2013 blaze at 130 Main St., a two-story building in downtown Derby.
Minerly and his wife were hospitalized after the fire for treatment of smoke inhalation, as was a Derby police officer who responded to the call.
Minerly was arrested last August after a five-month investigation by Derby Police Detective Charles Stankye (now retired), who concluded Minerly set fire to the building because he wanted to move.
At the time of his arrest, Minerly, who has an extensive arrest record and is on the state’s sex offender registry, faced charges in a handful of unrelated cases as well.
Minerly was charged in December 2012 with impersonating a police officer after a man said Minerly “jumped out from behind a garbage can and threw him up against a wall and searched him” on Main Street.
Six months later, Derby police took Minerly into custody on probation violation warrants connected to two 2007 forgery convictions.
While in the holding cell at the police station, Minerly allegedly complained of medical issues and asked for treatment, but then assaulted and threatened emergency personnel who were trying to evaluate him.
As a result, he was charged with assaulting a public safety officer or emergency medical personnel.
Offer
At Superior Court in Milford Tuesday (July 22), State’s Attorney Kevin Lawlor offered Minerly a 15-year prison term to be suspended after five years in exchange for a guilty plea in the arson case.
If he doesn’t plead guilty, the prosecutor said he’d seek to bring Minerly’s probation violation to a hearing before a judge “in short order.”
According to court records, Minerly was sentenced in November 2008 to five years in prison to be suspended after serving two years behind bars in one of the forgery cases, and a suspended two-year sentence in the other case.
That means Minerly would be exposed to five years behind bars if convicted of violating his probation.
Probation violation hearings occur before judges, not juries, and prosecutors have only to show a defendant violated his probation by a preponderance of evidence, not the higher standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lawlor said Tuesday that if Minerly pleads guilty to the arson and admits violating his probation, he’d be willing to let Minerly serve prison sentences in the cases concurrently — meaning at the same time.
Judge Frank Iannotti continued the case to Sept. 19 for Minerly to consider his options.
Federal Charges?
By that time, Minerly may face more charges — but in federal court.
Lawlor said during a May court appearance in the arson case that Minerly faced an “imminent” indictment in federal court and asked the case be continued two weeks to determine whether he wanted to ask a judge to raise Minerly’s bond.
But the two weeks came and went with no indictment of Minerly.
At his next court appearance, June 3, Lawlor said Minerly was “considering his options” with regard to the federal charge.
Lawlor did not reveal the basis for the possible federal charge, and Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, declined comment as well.
But sources say the possible indictment is connected to brutality complaints Minerly made against Derby police that proved to be false.
Defense Hiring Arson Expert
Meanwhile, Minerly’s lawyer in the arson case, Public Defender Kenneth Bunker, told Judge Iannotti Tuesday that he’s in the process of retaining an arson expert to review the evidence in the case.
He said that review should be done by the Sept. 19 continuance date, and that he’d give Minerly an assessment of his chances at trial by then.
According to an arrest warrant in the arson case, Derby Fire Marshal Phil Hawks determined the blaze began in a couch and loveseat in an empty apartment next to Minerly’s.
Further, the warrant says Hawks determined the fire to have been set intentionally, as there were no other ignition sources in the area.
Minerly and his wife were the only ones with keys to the building, the warrant says, and witnesses from nearby businesses told police they didn’t see anyone else go into the building all day.
Police also reviewed surveillance video from the liquor store on the first floor of the building, which the warrant says shows no one going in or out of the building from 6 p.m. to the time of the fire about an hour later other than Minerly’s wife, who can be seen leaving the building about 14 minutes before the fire began.
The warrant also quoted paramedics and EMTs who responded to prior calls at Minerly’s apartment, where he allegedly warned them that there would be a fire in the vacant apartment next to his at some point.
Click here to read more about the investigation.
