Ex-Firefighter Gets 2 1/2 Years in Burning of Wife’s Carport

A former Los Angeles firefighter who was captured after 2 1/2 years on the run was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for setting fire to the carport of his estranged wife’s South Pasadena apartment.

David Walter Pierson, 67, sat passively as Pasadena Superior Court Judge Judson W. Morris Jr. sentenced him to state prison and ordered him to pay $200 to a victims fund. Before the sentencing, his lawyer said Pierson also paid $4,000 in restitution to the victim.

“I’ve seen guys down further than this and come back and live productive lives,” Morris told Pierson.

Last month, Pierson pleaded no contest to arson. In exchange, prosecutors dropped related charges that could have led to a sentence of 10 years in prison.

“I’m happy the case was so easily resolved after a lengthy investigation. The defendant seemed perfectly ready to accept responsibility for his actions,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Philip Wojdak said. “We were also able to collect some restitution for the victim.”

The couple got married Feb. 14, 1999. Shortly after, investigators allege, Pierson beat his wife. Pauline Pierson--now Pauline Hohmann--sought a temporary restraining order against her husband March 9, 1999, citing domestic violence.

That month, a court commissioner granted the order forbidding Pierson to come within 100 yards of her, forcing him to move out of their apartment. Within days, Hohmann’s car tires had been slashed and her carport set ablaze, and Pierson had fled the state.

Robert Jones, a South Pasadena fire investigator, said Pierson used a flammable liquid to ignite the fire that destroyed his wife’s car and two other vehicles, and burned an adjoining structure and a utility pole in the 1800 block of Fremont Avenue.

The retired firefighter admitted the arson after being captured at a Laughlin, Nev., post office Sept. 18, police said.