State v. LeechState v. Leech
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Clyde Dale Leech appeals his conviction for first degree felony murder stemming from an arson fire in which a Seattle fire fighter died. Leech does not assign error to that part of the jury‘s verdict that implicitly convicted him of first degree arson. He instead contends that he was improperly convicted of felony murder. We agree and reverse.
On July 12, 1987, a fire broke out at the Crest apartment building (the Crest) located at Pike and Boren Streets in Seattle. Among the nearly 70 fire fighters who fought the blaze was Robert Earhart, a 15-year veteran who died in the course of fighting the fire. Fire investigators suspected arson, and Leech was arrested at the scene.
Many witnesses testified about the circumstances of Robert Earhart‘s death. Sometime during the fire, Earhart was reported missing. Another fire fighter discovered his
George Franz of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries investigated the circumstances of Earhart‘s death. He testified that Earhart‘s death could have been prevented had he followed the rules and obtained a new air tank when his air supply reached a critically low level. Earhart‘s breathing apparatus, which was not defective, was designed to sound an alarm when there was less than 5 minutes of oxygen left in the tank.
Franz also testified that he issued a citation to the Seattle Fire Department for violation of state regulations prohibiting fire fighters from “freelancing” (fighting a fire without supervision). Franz opined that had Earhart been properly supervised, he would have been instructed to obtain a new air tank when the alarm sounded and his death would have been prevented.
The jury found Leech guilty of first degree murder committed “in the course of and in furtherance of” first degree arson. Leech appeals.
Leech contends that he was improperly convicted of first degree felony murder because: (1) Earhart‘s negligence was not a “specifically foreseeable” result of the arson; (2) the arson fire was not the “proximate cause” of Earhart‘s death; and (3) Earhart‘s death was not caused “in the course of
and in furtherance of”
the crime of arson as required by
(c) He commits or attempts to commit the crime of . . . arson in the first degree, . . . and; in the course of and in furtherance of such a crime or in immediate flight therefrom, he, or another participant, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants . . .
(Italics ours.) Thus, to convict Leech of felony murder, the State must show that (1) Earhart‘s death was proximately
Leech first contends that Earhart‘s negligence was not a “specifically foreseeable” result of the arson and, therefore, the application of the felony murder statute violated his due process rights. Leech‘s contention is without merit.
Leech next contends that the felony murder statute was improperly applied in this case because the arson did not proximately cause Earhart‘s death. He argues that Earhart‘s own negligence in failing to use his breathing apparatus, rather than the arson, caused Earhart‘s death. The facts of this case amply support a finding that Leech‘s arson fire proximately caused Earhart‘s death, however.
” [I]t is not necessary that defendant‘s act should have been the sole cause of the harm[;] ... a contributory cause is sufficient.” (Italics omitted.) State v. Neher, 52 Wn. App. 298, 301, 759 P.2d 475 (1988) (quoting R. Perkins, Criminal Law, ch. 6, § 9, at 608-09 (1957)), aff‘d, 112 Wn.2d 347, 771 P.2d 330 (1989). Here, the arson was at least a contributory cause of Earhart‘s death. But for the arson fire, Earhart would not have been exposed to the poisonous fumes that ultimately killed him.
Moreover, a victim‘s contributory negligence does not relieve a defendant of criminal responsibility for homicide unless it is a supervening cause of death, that is, the
sole
cause of death.
State v. Judge,
100 Wn.2d 706, 718, 675 P.2d 219 (1984);
State v. Brobak,
47 Wn. App. 488, 493, 736
Notwithstanding sufficient evidence of proximate cause, however, the State must prove that Earhart‘s death was caused “in the course of and[ 1 ] in furtherance of” the arson. Earhart‘s death certainly occurred “in the course of“, i.e., during, the fire. Our analysis is therefore limited to the narrow question presented here: whether Earhart‘s death was “in furtherance of” the arson.
The State contends that it may prove a death is caused “in furtherance” of a felony by showing that the death is committed within the “res gestae” of the felony. In support, the State cites State v. Dudrey, 30 Wn. App. 447, 635 P.2d 750 (1981), review denied, 96 Wn.2d 1026 (1982). There, the court held that “A homicide is deemed committed during the perpetration of a felony, for the purpose of felony-murder, if the homicide is within the ‘res gestae’ of the felony, i.e., whether there was a close proximity in terms of time and distance between the felony and the homicide.” (Citations omitted.) Dudrey, 30 Wn. App. at 450.
The State cites numerous additional cases to support its argument, none of which is on point because each involves the application of a felony murder law that is distinctly different from Washington‘s statute. Moreover, we are unable to find any Washington case which has defined “in furtherance of” within the meaning of
“Furtherance” means “a helping forward: advancement, promotion“. Webster‘s Third New International Dictionary 924 (1976). Therefore, the plain terms of the felony murder statute require the State to prove that in acting to promote or advance his arson, Leech caused Earhart‘s death.
Arizona courts are in accord. In State v. Hallman, 137 Ariz. 31, 668 P.2d 874, 881 (1983), the court interpreted Arizona‘s felony murder statute which, in pertinent part, is identical to Washington‘s, and held that a “death is ‘in furtherance’ of the underlying felony if the death resulted ‘from an action taken to facilitate the accomplishment of [the felony].“’ Hallman, at 38 (quoting State v. Arias, 131 Ariz. 441, 443, 641 P.2d 1285, 1287 (1982)).
Here, there is no evidence from which any reasonable juror could conclude that in acting to advance or promote the arson, Leech caused Earhart‘s death. Indeed, by the
Accordingly, we vacate Leech‘s conviction for felony murder. In reaching its verdict, the jury necessarily convicted Leech of the lesser included offense of first degree arson. Therefore, we order the trial court to enter a conviction of first degree arson and resentence Leech accordingly. See State v. Plakke, 31 Wn. App. 262, 267-68, 639 P.2d 796 (1982), overruled on other grounds in State v. Davis, 35 Wn. App. 506, 667 P.2d 1117 (1983), aff‘d, 101 Wn.2d 654, 682 P.2d 883 (1984). 2
Reversed and remanded.
Scholfield and Winsor, JJ., concur.
Review granted at 113 Wn.2d 1027 (1989).
Notes
We note that
Because we vacate Leech‘s felony murder conviction, we need not address his additional assignments of error.