5 Found Guilty in 1988 Blast that Killed 6 Firefighters
Five people were convicted of setting a 1988 fire that caused a construction trailer loaded with ammonium nitrate to explode and kill six firefighters.
Relatives of the firefighters wept as the verdict was read last week, capping a five-week trail. The defendants maintained their innocence.
“It was totally wrong,” Frank Sheppard said. “We didn’t do this.”
Sheppard, his brother, a nephew and two others face up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors said some defendants went to the construction site to steal tools, batteries, walkie-talkies and dynamite to sell for drugs. They set a trailer afire when they couldn’t find anything and a second trailer exploded 40 minutes later.
The investigation was nearly dead until the case was featured on NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” on Feb. 10, 1995. Tips then poured in, leading to the arrest of the defendants.
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