This episode of Hot Pursuit features a special guest, Officer Justin Russell. Officer Russell was embedded with the Orange County Fire Authority Investigations Division for seven years. He worked as a liaison between the Investigations Unit and local law enforcement partners, helping to bridge the gap between the two agencies and build a successful model for collaboration.

This episode focuses on a case involving a vehicle fire that occurred in March of 2020. The vehicle, a 2012 Audi, was found fully engulfed in flames in a cul-de-sac in Irvine. The registered owner, “Larry”, claimed the car had been stolen from his garage while he was sleeping. However, several suspicious details emerged during the investigation. Listen to the full episode to hear how this mystery ends.

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Fire Investigator Shaun Miller joins Sophia and Scott to discuss a New Year’s Day arson case that was instrumental in the Orange County Fire Authority’s decision to get an accelerant detection K9. Initial reports were confusing, with conflicting information about possible victims. The Investigators discovered two separate points of origin for the fires, which immediately raised his suspicions. While investigating, Captain Miller was also alerted that were two missing women. An accelerant detection K9 was requested at the scene. Listen to the full episode to hear how this mystery ends.

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Picking up where they left off in the last episode, hosts Sophia Champieux and Scott Kuhlman continue their discussion of the 73 Arson case with Fire Investigator Bill Strohm. Strohm details how the investigation expanded to include collaboration with federal agencies like the ATF and FBI, adding another layer of complexity to the already multi-jurisdictional case. The episode dives deeper into the challenges of tracking down an arsonist targeting a busy highway, especially when evidence suggests a potential connection to the first responder community.

A quick note for listeners, throughout this episode we refer to the Behavioral Health Unit with the FBI. We misspoke, the correct term is FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU).

Key Terms:

Adjudicated: A case that has been closed in the court system

Arson Spree: Three or more fires set by the same person in a short time frame

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions

Honeycomb: A term used to describe the appearance of the internal components of a catalytic converter that has failed and ejected debris onto the roadway

Hot Start: An open flame ignition, like the flame from a lighter, match, torch, or road flare