Johnson found guilty in Rendevous arson trial

A jury found Eric Johnson guilty of aggravated arson and obstruction of justice involving the Rendevous Dinner Club fire in late July 2013, by a jury n Judge Chuck West’s courtroom Thursday, March 12. Johnson was 22 years old when he was arrested about a month after the fire.
After the court adjourned for the last time shortly after noon, Johnson’s attorney, Jacob Fusilier, said “We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict. Our client maintains his innocence and we plan to appeal.” Johnson faces a maximum of 20 years in jail on the aggravated arson conviction and a maximum of five years on the obstruction of justice conviction.
Fusilier added, “We compliment the professionalism of Trent Brignac’s office and the assistants” who were involved in the trial.
Fusilier also will represent the other defendant in the arson case, John Deville, the owner of the dinner club. That trial is expected to take place this summer.
Deville made a brief appearance at the trial on Wednesday, March 11. After taking the oath to tell the truth, Deville said he had been advised by legal counsel to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. He was then excused from the court. His trial will take place this summer.
The prosecution’s last witness in Johnson’s trial, called Wednesday morning, was Captain Nick Heinen, with the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office.
After reviewing Heinen’s career, which included investigating arson cases since 2006, receiving advanced training, being cited as an expert in other arson trials and other achievements, he was determined to be an expert witness in the case.
Heinen said he was called to lead an investigation team after Ville Platte Fire Chief Ted Demourelle “noticed discrepancies.”
Heinen said investigators ruled out an electrical fire or a fire originating from the stove or fryer in the kitchen. He said the cause was determined to be an intentionally set fire behind the bar.
Prosecutor Tim Fontenot introduced several items as evidence taken from the dinner club and from Bayou Toureau in a remote area of northeast Evangeline Parish.The evidence had been brought from Baton Rouge earlier Wednesday.
Heinen opened the bags and boxes containing the items as he explained what the items were and where they were recovered from.
The evidence included 16 cables cleanly severed that were found in the dinner club and 16 severed cables connected connected to a DVR found in the bayou.
One of the items introduced as evidence was a table top taken from the dinner club after the fire, that had a rectangular impression on its top surface. Heinen explained the impression matched exactly the dimensions of the bottom surface of a computer box recovered from the bayou. He said the computer box protected the tabletop during the fire, causing the impression.
Earlier testimony indicated State Fire Marshal investigators took photographs or videos of the burned out interior of the dinner club shortly after the fire was extinguished that showed the security system while it was still there.
During cross examination by defense attorney Fusilier, Heinen was asked why the Fire Marshal’s Office did not test for accelerants. Heinen said fire investigators determined that no accelerants were used and so did not need to test for that.
After the prosecution rested its case Wednesday afternoon, the defense called two former employees at the Rendevous Dinner Club.
One of them testified that he had met David Landry months after the fire. Landry had testified the day before that he saw Johnson, the defendant, at the dinner club as the fire began and that Johnson had stated before the fire that he was going to start the fire. Landry had also testified he assisted Johnson in loading the security system into Landry’s truck and helped dump the system’s components into Bayou Toureau.
The witness said Landry had told him after the fire, and after Johnson was arrested, that he felt bad about his statement to fire marshal’s investigators leading to Johnson’s arrest, and that someone with the Fire Marshal’s Office told Landry he would not be put in jail if he told them Johnson started the fire.
Another defense witness, also a former Rendevous employee, said the wall behind the bar --- near where investigators said the fire started -- was “very hot. Almost unbearable,” when she put her hand on it.
Fontenot, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, pointed out that the employee did not include the condition of the wall in her statement made after the fire, and that none of the other employees mentioned the wall being hot in their statements.
The defense rested its case when the court was called to order Thursday morning. Then the prosecutor made closing statements.
Fontenot pointed out that Johnson was charged with aggravated arson because people who were staying in a motel adjacent to the dinner club were put in danger because of the large fire and had to be evacuated.
He said the obstruction of justice charge stemmed from his tampering with the evidence -- the security system at the dinner club.
During his closing arguments, defense attorney Fusilier said the State Fire Marshal’s had been “led astray” from what should have been ruled an electrical fire involving an old building that had wiring problems in the past on a hot summer day.
Fusilier also reminded the jury that employees testified that it was not unusual for Johnson to stay at the dinner club after the other employees had left for the evening.
He also said investigators produced no evidence, such as documents or testimony, except from Landry -- wich the defense said was tainted -- that the fire was intentionally started because “business was bad.”
The Evangeline Parish District Attorney’s Office was given a deadline of June 5, to complete a sentencing investigation and a sentencing hearing was set for July 23.