Judge rules statements admissible in arson trial
By Mike Santa Rita
msantarita@patuxent.com
Posted 9/19/08
A Howard County Circuit Court judge ruled Sept. 18 that statements an Essex man charged with arson and attempted murder made to Howard County police before and after his arrest will be admissible in his upcoming trial.
Scott Allen Pryor, 45, of Essex, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson as well as assault, burglary and reckless endangerment charges relating to a November 2007 fire in the Columbia village of Long Reach. The statements that Pryor’s attorney tried to get suppressed included an audiotaped interview that Pryor gave to police after his arrest in which he said he had poured gasoline in the house and lit it. Judge Lenore Gelfman ruled that police had behaved properly in securing the statements.
Pryor’s relationship with Sheryl Alman, the homeowner of the Long Reach residence, had recently ended when the fire occurred, according to police. A neighbor of Alman’s Flagflower Place address saw Pryor leaving Alman’s house shortly before the fire started, according to police.
Two people were at home during the fire, Andrew Christopher Lee, a University of Maryland, Baltimore County, student, and Breanna Alman, the daughter Sheryl Alman. A neighbor pulled Lee from the burning building while firefighters pulled Alman from the building. Lee was treated and released from The University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, and Breanna Alman was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She is no longer there, a hospital spokeswoman said Sept. 19.
Pryor’s attorney, Benjamin Sutley, argued Sept. 18 before Judge Lenore Gelfman that Pryor’s statements to police on two occasions were wrongfully obtained. The first occurred on the day of the fire, when Howard detectives Aaron Dombrowsky and Clay Davis went to Pryor’s Essex home and questioned him. Sutley argued that because Pryor was their primary suspect, the detectives’ interview with Pryor amounted to a warrantless search and seizure of his house and, therefore, his statements should not be heard.
During that initial interview with police, Pryor volunteered to have his vehicle searched. During the search, Dombrowsky noticed a smell of gasoline in the vehicle, Dombrowsky said. Police later went back to the residence and seized the vehicle in order to use dogs that could identify whether gasoline was in the vehicle, Dombrowsky said.
The second interview occurred after Pryor was arrested. Police first read Pryor his Miranda rights, which include the right to remain silent during questioning and the right to have an attorney present during questioning, before they interviewed him, Dombrowsky said. They then ended the interview but discovered the recording equipment was malfunctioning, Dombrowsky said. The detectives then resumed the interview with an audiotape working, Dombrowsky said. Sutley argued that the second time that the detectives resumed the interview they should have again read Pryor his Miranda rights, contending it amounted to a second interview.
Gelfman ruled that Pryor had invited the officers into his home during the interview with police before his arrest, thereby giving them consent, and also ruled that police had properly read Pryor his rights after he was charged. Pryor is scheduled to be tried Oct. 21 in Howard County Circuit Court.
Scott Allen Pryor, 45, of Essex, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson as well as assault, burglary and reckless endangerment charges relating to a November 2007 fire in the Columbia village of Long Reach. The statements that Pryor’s attorney tried to get suppressed included an audiotaped interview that Pryor gave to police after his arrest in which he said he had poured gasoline in the house and lit it. Judge Lenore Gelfman ruled that police had behaved properly in securing the statements.
Pryor’s relationship with Sheryl Alman, the homeowner of the Long Reach residence, had recently ended when the fire occurred, according to police. A neighbor of Alman’s Flagflower Place address saw Pryor leaving Alman’s house shortly before the fire started, according to police.
Two people were at home during the fire, Andrew Christopher Lee, a University of Maryland, Baltimore County, student, and Breanna Alman, the daughter Sheryl Alman. A neighbor pulled Lee from the burning building while firefighters pulled Alman from the building. Lee was treated and released from The University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, and Breanna Alman was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She is no longer there, a hospital spokeswoman said Sept. 19.
Pryor’s attorney, Benjamin Sutley, argued Sept. 18 before Judge Lenore Gelfman that Pryor’s statements to police on two occasions were wrongfully obtained. The first occurred on the day of the fire, when Howard detectives Aaron Dombrowsky and Clay Davis went to Pryor’s Essex home and questioned him. Sutley argued that because Pryor was their primary suspect, the detectives’ interview with Pryor amounted to a warrantless search and seizure of his house and, therefore, his statements should not be heard.
During that initial interview with police, Pryor volunteered to have his vehicle searched. During the search, Dombrowsky noticed a smell of gasoline in the vehicle, Dombrowsky said. Police later went back to the residence and seized the vehicle in order to use dogs that could identify whether gasoline was in the vehicle, Dombrowsky said.
The second interview occurred after Pryor was arrested. Police first read Pryor his Miranda rights, which include the right to remain silent during questioning and the right to have an attorney present during questioning, before they interviewed him, Dombrowsky said. They then ended the interview but discovered the recording equipment was malfunctioning, Dombrowsky said. The detectives then resumed the interview with an audiotape working, Dombrowsky said. Sutley argued that the second time that the detectives resumed the interview they should have again read Pryor his Miranda rights, contending it amounted to a second interview.
Gelfman ruled that Pryor had invited the officers into his home during the interview with police before his arrest, thereby giving them consent, and also ruled that police had properly read Pryor his rights after he was charged. Pryor is scheduled to be tried Oct. 21 in Howard County Circuit Court.
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