Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Warm Springs Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Murder and Arson

PORTLAND, OR—Jerome Phillip Spino, 32, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on February 7, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Garr M. King, after pleading guilty on November 4, 2010, to two counts of murder in the second degree and arson. Spino was ordered to pay restitution to the victims' estate and will have to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

The federal case began on May 28, 2008 when fire fighters responded to a residential fire on
Shepard Lane
in Warm Springs, Oregon. After the fire was extinguished, the bodies of two adults were discovered. A 43-year-old male died of asphyxiation caused by the inhalation of smoke carbon monoxide, and a 49-year-old female died from asphyxiation as well as severe thermal injuries covering her entire body.

Witnesses observed Spino entering the residence with a gas can and later saw him running from the scene. He was arrested shortly after the fire and had a .34 percent blood alcohol level. Spino initially denied any involvement in the arson. Later, he gave varying statements, but admitted spreading gasoline about the residence and setting the fire with his lighter. According to Spino, he intended to kill himself, but lost his nerve and escaped through a window just before the fire blazed out of control. Spino was not injured or burned in any way.

Laboratory analysis of the floor of the residence was positive for gasoline used as an accelerant to spread the fire. A search and analysis of Spino's person, after the fire, produced a butane lighter and gasoline residue on his sweatshirt and pants.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Warm Springs Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kemp L. Strickland.

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