Judge Rules Arrest Legal in White Elk Motel Fire

A Howard County Circuit Court judge ruled that a man who was arrested by Howard County police in Baltimore County should stand trial for arson during a pretrial motions hearing on Thursday.

Judge Dennis Sweeney ruled that it was legal for Howard County police to arrest Barry Lee Murphy on Dec. 27 and take him from a homeless encampment in Baltimore County to the Howard County Detention Center for questioning.

Sweeney also ruled that there was probable cause to detain Murphy in connection with a Dec. 26 in Elkridge. Murphy, who remains in custody at the county detention center, is scheduled to stand trial on June 6 on charges that he started a motel room fire that resulted in approximately $2,000 in damages.

Defense attorney Diane Patton argued that Murphy's arrest was illegal and that evidence arising from his arrest and questioning should be suppressed. Patton contended that Murphy was arrested for domestic assault stemming from an alleged earlier altercation with a girlfriend, and not for arson.

Murphy was charged Dec. 30 with first-degree arson, malicious burning, threatening arson and burglary in connection with the Dec. 26 incident at the White Elk Motel.

"Anything that comes from the arrest should be suppressed,” Patton argued. “It was days later that  [with arson]...Clearly, [police] had to do more investigating.”

Patton also argued that the police questioning was not taped and that the arrest was made in Baltimore County, out of the Howard County Police Department's jurisdiction.

The prosecution successfully argued that Murphy's arrest was legal.

“The analysis is whether there was sufficient evidence…that a crime had been committed,” said Ned Curry, representing the Office of the State's Attorney for Howard County. "It was more likely than not…that it was an arson…it was more likely than not Barry Lee Murphy.”

When Murphy was arrested, he was living at a homeless encampment at the Howard/Baltimore county line off Washington Boulevard. Meanwhile, Murphy's girlfriend was living in a room at the White Elk Motel, according to charging documents.

The two had an argument earlier on Dec. 26 in front of the Elkridge  when he allegedly kicked her. That same night, police were dispatched to the White Elk Motel for a trespassing complaint because Murphy had been banned from the motel and was supposedly on the premises.

Upon arriving, police saw smoke coming from the second floor of the motel and called the fire department.

Testimony from witnesses—one who lived with Murphy's girlfriend in the motel room and another who was drinking alcohol with one of her other roommates—placed Murphy at the scene of the fire, according to Det. Donald Guevara, the lead investigator in the case.