Judge hit for plea deal that gives architect 6 months in blaze that killed firefighter
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A California judge is being criticized for giving a plea deal to a German architect whose design flaws in a Los Angeles mansion led to the death of a firefighter.
The Los Angeles Times reports 49-year-old Gerhard Becker’s trial was preempted Friday after Superior Court Judge Robert Perry unilaterally agreed to a six-month prison sentence for the German national and renowned architect in exchange for Becker pleading no contest to the charges.
In striking the deal, Perry reportedly reasoned a Los Angeles building and safety inspector who signed off on the mansion after its construction shared some of the blame for the firefighter’s death.
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“There are serious issues of proof for responsibility of the loss of life,” Perry reportedly said, adding that he believed the role of inspector Brad Bescos would lead to a hung jury.
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But Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney hammered Perry for his decision, reportedly saying, “It is a sentence that undermines any deterrent effect — that says they can blame it on city bureaucracy's negligence.”
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The Times also quoted retired firefighter Kevin Mulvehill of the agreement, “I don't think six months in jail is worth what all these guys went through. Everyone who responded has a life sentence."
Firefighter Glenn Allen, 61, a 37-year department veteran, reportedly died during a 2011 blaze at the West Hollywood mansion that Becker intended as his primary residence.
Prosecutors contended Becker sloughed local building codes in installing a pebble-filled fire pit in the mansion’s living room that was reportedly surrounded by wood and drywall, rather than non-flammable materials.
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Authorities reportedly contended that Becker’s cost for the fire pit's installation would have been 10 times higher had he done it properly -- and up to municipal code.
They also reportedly claimed the fire pit's vent was flat, rather than angling upward, a condition that allowed the fire to spread to the attic far quicker than responding firefighters assumed was possible.
“What we rely on as a community is the good faith of the persons who are actually responsible for the construction," Carney reportedly said during a preliminary hearing in the case. "What he [Becker] put forward was contempt and arrogance for any safety standards he didn't agree with."
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Prior to the plea deal, the beleaguered architect faced up to four years in prison on involuntary manslaughter charges. Carney, for his part, had previously offered Becker a deal stipulating a two-year sentence.