Arson Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

A Tempe fire usually begins with Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, the city department that answers fire calls and also handles fire prevention, inspections and code enforcement. Its fire prevention page describes community risk reduction work that includes investigation services. The city publishes no page explaining how a fire's cause is assigned or who follows up when a fire looks deliberate, so we do not guess. What we can say is that the department keeps fire incident reports, which the public can request through the city's records system or by mail to Tempe Fire Medical Rescue at 1400 E. Apache Blvd.

On the police side, the Tempe Police Investigations Division lists a Violent Crimes Section and a Major Crimes Section, and the department has a Forensic Services Unit. None of those pages says which unit handles a fire case, so the name on a detective's card is the best guide. A fire tied to an injury, a domestic dispute or a property loss can draw more than one unit.

Arizona's arson law turns on mental state. A.R.S. 13-1703 requires two knowing acts: starting a fire or explosion, and through it, damaging a structure or property unlawfully. "Damage" in this chapter means any physical or visual impairment of any surface, so scorching can count. A fire caused recklessly rather than knowingly does not fit 13-1703, though it can be charged as reckless burning under A.R.S. 13-1702, a class 1 misdemeanor.

What burned sets the class. A structure, defined as any building, object, vehicle, watercraft, aircraft or place with sides and a floor used for lodging, business, transportation, recreation or storage, makes it a class 4 felony regardless of value. Anything else that burns is graded by its worth: over $1,000 brings class 4, between $100 and $1,000 class 5, and $100 or under only a class 1 misdemeanor. A.R.S. 13-1704 treats burning an occupied structure as class 2, and by definition every dwelling house qualifies, even one standing empty.

The class decides the courthouse. The two misdemeanor forms, low-value arson of property and reckless burning, can stay in Tempe when Tempe Police wrote the report: the Criminal Division of the Tempe City Attorney's Office, also called the Prosecutor's Office, prosecutes misdemeanors committed inside Tempe, and Tempe Municipal Court on Fifth Street hears them. Felony arson goes to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which generally reviews and charges it, and Superior Court hears it in the downtown criminal complex. Confirm the building on your current notice.

Rule 4.1 requires an initial appearance within 24 hours of arrest. A person booked into the county jail on a felony fire charge sees a judge at the Intake, Transfer and Release facility, 2670 S. 28th Dr. Release terms set there can keep you away from the property, from the person who reported the fire, or both. Follow them exactly.

Prosecutors sometimes add a dangerous-offense allegation to a fire charge. If it is proved, A.R.S. 13-704 calls for prison and rules out probation, so that allegation deserves scrutiny from day one.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. Under A.R.S. 13-603, a court that convicts must order restitution for the full economic loss, and repair, contents and displacement costs from a fire can add up quickly. A felony conviction makes a person a prohibited possessor under A.R.S. 13-3101 until firearm rights are restored, and it can surface on background checks for housing, jobs and licenses. The criminal case and an insurance claim on the same fire can influence each other. Noncitizens should get immigration advice before any plea.