Arsonists to be sentenced in Sports Belle fire
According to testimony last week in
So imagine investigators' surprise when, more than four years after the
Arson was not their specialty. But alarm and sprinkler systems? That was a different story.
Chief U.S. District Judge
Lee, 67, admitted to masterminding the arson of his business -- once touted as visionary by The
Charges against Beason, Delude and Lewis were then made public. They had been secretly cooperating with
The trio were supposed to be sentenced last week, but the judge said he was concerned sentencing guidelines might not offer him a true snapshot of the culpability -- and resulting punishment -- for each man. Varlan chose instead to hear testimony and details in all the cases, including Lee's, before deciding.
Lee was once hailed as a prophet in the sports apparel business when, in the wake of the 1972 passage of Title IX requiring educational institutions to provide female athletes the same opportunities as their male counterparts, he began tailoring uniforms for women.
The UT grad started Sports Belle with a client list of high school athletic teams but soon was making all of UT's athletic uniforms and by 2004 had eight women's college basketball teams on his roster.
Also by 2004, adidas had pushed Sports Belle out as UT's athletic clothier. Smaller colleges, too, began turning to more lucrative branding deals with major sports-apparel firms.
Lee's business was hemorrhaging money. Having decided in early 2008 to burn down his massive
Beason's mother worked for Lee, so the two knew each other. Beason, testimony showed, was a bit of a ne'er-do-well but had a skill set Lee knew would be useful: He installed fire and security alarm systems.
Lee offered him
Beason, temporarily homeless, had been bunking on the couch of Delude, who worked for the same alarm firm. Delude had his own special skill set -- he knew how the alarm systems worked and had to disable them without alerting monitors or the police. Lee asked Delude to work with him.
"Delude said something to the effect of 'You're crazy,' " Kennaner testified last week.
Beason was not. He promised to split his fee with Delude. A deal was struck.
Beason also recruited Lewis, his copper-wire-stealing partner. Lewis also worked at the alarm company and was handy with tools. Beason promised Lewis copper wiring from the warehouse.
Lewis testified last week that when he arrived at the warehouse, the sprinkler valve had been shut off and the lines drained. Delude also had disabled security cameras.
"We had a short little get-together and decided we'd set fires in different portions of the building," Lewis said.
He and Beason stripped the copper wiring first, and Lewis said Beason stole other equipment. Using what are commonly known as Molotov cocktails -- bottles filled with fuel and a rag -- the men began the process of starting the fires. But a complication arose.
The fire "took off fast, very fast," Lewis said. "There was so much smoke in the building, we started to get scared. Me and Joey ran out."
Delude denies actually setting the fires.
Lewis said the men barely made it out of the warehouse before police and firefighters arrived.
"We actually had to lay down for a few seconds in the parking lot" so they couldn't be seen, Lewis said.
The two later ran to a nearby Walmart, hiding in the back parking lot. Delude was gone.
"I was worried he didn't make it out without being spotted by all those police cars," Lewis said.
Beason called Delude.
"(Delude) said he ran through the Walmart," Lewis said. "I was thinking that wasn't very smart."
It took more than four years before authorities linked Lewis to the crime. He turned on Delude, who turned on Beason, testimony showed. Beason later agreed to cooperate against Lee. Lewis and Delude never met or spoke with the man who set the arson plot in motion.
Lee, meanwhile, collected
The judge won't decide the trio's fate until Lee is sentenced in June.
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