November 28, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Almost two and a half years since a fire at the courthouse, the man accused of setting the blaze has not yet gone to trial.
56 year old Gary Wayne Ponder, charged with arson, made a brief appearance Monday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Judge Gary McKenzie set the trial date for April 3 but the case will be back on the court docket again on January 16.
One of the reasons for the delay is to determine whether Ponder’s medical condition is affecting his mental state and ability to stand trial.
Assistant District Public Defender Scott Grissom announced Monday that while Ponder’s most recent medical evaluation has been completed the results have not yet been made available to the District Attorney General’s Office. Once state prosecutors review the findings, they will determine whether to ask the court for another independent medical evaluation of Ponder. He has already undergone mental evaluations.
The trial had been scheduled for May but Grissom asked for and was granted a delay. In his motion for a continuance, Grissom included a letter from a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who saw Ponder on March 21 and found him to be confused. According to Wright, Ponder is being treated for cirrhosis of the liver and that complications from this condition causes confusion. Wright added that she had started a medication to help with his condition.
Smithville Police charged Ponder on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 after he was observed on the courthouse surveillance video system intentionally lighting fire in a newspaper recycling bin on the first floor vestibule. The video showed that on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Ponder grabbed newspapers from the recycling bin and started the fire by lighting them with a cigarette lighter. The fire damaged the wall behind the recycling bin and cracked a window in the vestibule near the first floor entrance of the courthouse.
Local attorney Jim Judkins was the first to spot the blaze. He tried to activate the fire alarm and accessed a fire extinguisher which he used to try to put out the blaze.
Members of the Smithville Fire Department were notified and quickly responded.
County Mayor Tim Stribling said the total damages to the courthouse caused by the fire came to $120,706.52, which was the amount of the claim paid by the county’s insurance provider.
After the fire smoke had to be cleared from the courthouse, new ceiling tiles and dry wall work were required and a broken glass in the vestibule doorway had to be replaced.
The county also installed a new fire alarm system in the courthouse provided by FireTeam of Tracy City at a cost of $35,363.81. The system meets the latest International Fire Codes.