MACOMB COUNTY, Mich.-- Officials in at least three Michigan counties Tuesday were poring over old arson cases to determine whether a fire investigator accused of faking evidence in Macomb County looked into suspicious fires in their communities.
Jeffrey Wallace, 52, a retired Eastpointe fire marshal, is expected to be charged today in 42nd District Court on three felony charges relating to his investigation into a fire in Chesterfield Township.
Macomb County prosecutors said Wallace was arrested last Friday after an undercover investigation caught him red-handed in planting an accelerant at the scene of a fire he was asked to probe.
"We have an eyewitness," said Chesterfield Detective Brad Kersten.
In addition, prosecutors in Bay, Gladwin and St. Clair counties have already or plan to issue warrants for his arrest on similar charges.
Wallace and his police dog, Cops, which was trained to sniff out accelerants at the scenes of fires, were widely known to law enforcement officials throughout Michigan.
After he retired in 2006 from the Eastpointe Fire Department, he was hired as fire marshal for Gladwin County and worked as a consultant in other communities.
In Macomb, he faces charges of tampering with evidence, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison upon conviction, and obstruction of justice, a 5-year felony.
After being arrested in Chesterfield last week, he was turned over to Gladwin authorities, who wait with similar charges. Free on an interim bond, he is expected to be formally arraigned in Gladwin on Friday afternoon.
In neighboring St. Clair County, Prosecutor Michael Wendling said charges are pending, but he doubts any arson convictions will be overturned because of the allegations.
"I reviewed all of our cases that we had contact with him, there were three, and in all three we are satisfied the results of the investigation were independent of his involvement," Wendling said.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith told The Macomb Daily that Wallace's motivation was "hero worship" as he wanted people to believe he was still a good investigator although his dog was aging and its skills eroding.
The criminal charges could affect one serious criminal case in Macomb County.
Wallace and his dog identified an accelerant in an arson case against Ricky Dale Garrett, 44, of Eastpointe, who is also charged with felony murder.
Garrett is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail into the St. Clair Shores home of Robert Tucker, who died in the Sept. 22, 2006, blaze.
Garrett's defense attorney, Timothy Kohler, said the recent developments involving Wallace could damage the prosecution's case for the cause of the fire.
"It gives new light to the case in favor of my client," Kohler said.
However, the prosecution's case does not rest on the arson conclusion. Garrett admitted to police in a written statement that he threw the bottle of gasoline onto the porch.
Staff Writer Jamie Cook contributed to this report.
Republished with permission of The Macomb Daily.
