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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Victoria Ursulskis Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Steve Carter Attorney General of Indiana Michael Gene Worden Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

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In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 49S02-0509-PC-405 DORSEY MATHEWS, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee (Plaintiff below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, No. 49G01-9409-CF-119589 The Honorable Paula Lopossa, Judge _________________________________ On Petition To Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-0406-PC-493 _________________________________ June 28, 2006 Boehm, Justice. Damaging property by fire is the crime of arson under a number of separate circumstances. We hold that damaging one property by fire is only one arson, even if the fire produces multiple consequences, any one of which is sufficient to constitute arson. We also hold that an arson is elevated to an A felony by bodily injury whether or not more than one person is injured, but injuries to multiple persons do not create multiple Class A arsons. All of these holdings are derived from the structure of the statute, not from constitutional limitations.

Facts and Procedural History On September 16, 1994, Dorsey Mathews and his estranged wife, Peggy Mathews, had a verbal confrontation at the Knot Here Lounge after Dorsey saw Peggy dancing with another man. A few minutes later, Tracey Pickett, a patron, saw Dorsey bend down in the hallway between the lounge's bar and its kitchen, then step back, and exit through the side door. Immediately thereafter a large flame erupted from the direction of the side door. The fire engulfed the entire bar. Between 100 and 150 people escaped through the front door, but Karen McCloud, a bar employee, died from smoke inhalation and several others were injured, including a fireman who responded to the blaze. Investigators concluded that the fire had been intentionally caused by someone who poured and ignited gasoline in the hallway near the side door. The building sustained about $100,000 in damages. Two witnesses testified to admissions by Dorsey. According to Peggy's daughter, on the evening of the fire Dorsey had told her "that he made a bomb and he was going to go blow up the bar." The day after the fire, Dorsey awoke at the home of his son, Nathan. Nathan's then fianc

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Indiana Law