Marvin Chase, a former volunteer LaFayette firefighter charged with arson
The attorney for a former LaFayette, Ga., volunteer firefighter accused of starting several fires in abandoned buildings over a five-year span will ask for a change of venue if his client’s case goes to trial.
Marvin Chase, 34, pleaded not guilty to eight counts of arson during his arraignment Wednesday in Walker County. His next court appearance is set for May. If he pleads not guilty at that time, a trial date will be set.
But Chase’s attorney, David West, said he will try to have the trial moved out of Northwest Georgia because of the way officials “sensationalized” the case.
“They’re trying to use my client as a scapegoat in a lot of unsolved arsons,” West said Wednesday afternoon.
When Chase was arrested in December 2010 on one count of arson, police said in a news conference that they would be able to prove the volunteer firefighter was responsible for more than 20 fires within the city.