With both arsonists now sentenced to prison for setting a blaze that injured seven Detroit firefighters, the victims' colleagues are focused on a crucial detail that continues to smolder.
The person accused of hiring the two men to torch his cell phone store as part of an insurance scam remains a free man.
"This is the guy who's got to go," said Detroit firefighter Jeffrey Urbas, who was among many firefighters packed into a federal courtroom Thursday in Ann Arbor for the sentencing of Calvin Jones.
Jones, 41, a self-employed mechanic, was sent to prison for 15 years for helping to set the August 2010 fire at the Metro PCS cell phone store on East Jefferson Avenue. Seven firefighters were injured, including one who was left paralyzed, when a wall collapsed.
According to court records, Jones and co-defendant Samson Wright set the fire at the behest of the Metro PCS store owner. The Free Press has learned that store owner then tried to buy tickets to a benefit for the injured firefighters.
"We talked about it and said, 'No way!' " Urbas recalled, noting that firefighters suspected the store owner was trying to conceal his involvement in the blaze.
The owner was not named in court documents. The Free Press is not naming him because he hasn't been charged and can't be located.
The U.S. Attorney's Office would not discuss why the man hadn't been charged or talk about his whereabouts. Officials would say only that the case remains under investigation.
According to court documents, the store owner offered Wright a deal to burn down the store for $15,000 -- which would come from the insurance payout. Records show Wright agreed and got $500 for the job. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Nov. 15.
Fire officials had hoped for stiffer sentences for both arsonists, who each faced a maximum of 40 years in prison.
In a showing of solidarity for their injured colleagues, more than 30 firefighters in crisp navy uniforms sat shoulder-to-shoulder in the courtroom. Among them was Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association. He was outraged after the sentencing, mainly because he felt Jones showed no remorse.
"To have a guy stand there and show no remorse -- that's the biggest insult," McNamara said.
Jones apologized for his actions at sentencing.
"I'm truly sorry for all the people who got hurt, especially the firefighters and their families. I have always looked upon them as heroes," he said.
Still, he insisted that he was coerced into starting the fire and argued that he was denied a fair trial because he wasn't allowed to give his version of events in court.
Brendan Milewski, 32, the firefighter who was left paralyzed, addressed Jones at the sentencing.
From his wheelchair, he looked at the defendant and said: "I would trade places with you in a heartbeat and serve your sentence if it meant that one day, I will be able to walk out of prison and enjoy life as I used to."
Milewski, whose wife and parents were present, also told Jones he genuinely believed he had "no intentions of maliciously injuring anyone."
"Common sense leads me to believe you and Mr. Wright were purely the 'fall guys' in this operation," Milewski said.
But too many people got hurt, Milewski said, and now it's time for those responsible to pay.
"Your decision to go to trial and subsequent conviction has left you facing a life-altering prison sentence," Milewski said. "Me, on the other hand, I'm serving a life sentence in this wheelchair."
He added: "No one wins in this situation."
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
