Judge denies motion to exclude evidence against Troy auto shop
Coppo and Champney own J&J Auto Body of
Pratt faces two counts of arson and one count of accomplice to insurance fraud. He is accused of helping ignite the fire with the intent to defraud the truck's insurer, according to court documents.
The defense argued that the search warrant and recorded phone call should be inadmissible at trial. The affidavit filed in support of the search warrant fails to state probable cause and is "otherwise defective," Champney's attorney,
In court filings, Guerriero took aim at the the method police used to obtain a search warrant. He said their affidavit relied on interviews from two former employees,
Guerriero wrote that
Similarly, Bidwell and Coppo had an ongoing labor dispute regarding unpaid wages, but information about that was not included in the police affidavit, according to Guerriero.
Assistant
Kissinger agreed.
Although the additional information suggests a potential motive for Fields and Bidwell to lie to police, they didn't, he wrote in his June order. Fields admitted in an interview with police to dumping the accelerant on the truck and thereby incriminated himself, according to Kissinger.
In
Court records show that there is no related case pending against Bidwell.
In his motion to suppress, Guerriero further maintains that investigators placed too much weight on a recorded telephone conversation between Pratt and Fields.
Assistant Attorney General
Kissinger ruled in June that neither issue the defense raised changes the fact that police had probable cause to search the auto shop.
"Although
The defense also maintained in court documents that the passage of two years between the fire and
Kissinger disagreed.
He wrote in his order that the shop did not move, and that it was reasonable for investigators to believe that the business documents and equipment they sought were still there.
Guerriero notes in court documents that the auto shop's insurer,
That investigation found no evidence of arson, but concluded that the fire appeared to be electrical in nature, according to court documents. The exact cause was undetermined.
Two years later,
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