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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Charges will proceed to court against a city man accused of setting fire to a house with six people inside, including three children.
Daniel M. Sipes Jr., 26, stood before Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones on Friday for his preliminary hearing on 35 felony charges, including six counts of attempted homicide, after he allegedly set the Oct. 14 house fire on the 2000 block of Fifth Avenue.
A city woman, Maria N. Frye, 30, who also faces attempted homicide charges and is accused of conspiring with Sipes, waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
Several witnesses on Friday described the Oct. 14 events, including a female who was inside the Fifth Avenue residence and awoke to banging on the door. An Altoona police officer yelled that "the house is on fire" and ordered everyone to get out.
All six people in the house were displaced by the fire.
Altoona Deputy Fire Chief Adam Free, who served as fire inspector for the Oct. 14 fire, testified that firefighters arrived on scene to heavy fire with flames showing from the second floor and attic space.
The fire started to spread into the kitchen while police were evacuating residents, and Free said that had it not been for the swift efforts from the police officer, the residents could have been trapped and likely killed.
Another victim in the residence told police that she and Sipes argued before the fire. The victim called Sipes "crazy" and said he had threatened to burn her house down previously, court documents state.
An Altoona firefighter testified Friday that he was injured while working to extinguish the fire in the attic and suffered a torn upper bicep and rotator cuff after his hoseline was caught on debris.
Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks argued that Sipes' actions put the firefighter and six residents at "severe risk for death or bodily injury."
Free was off duty when he responded to the scene and began his investigation immediately upon arriving.
Free said the fire originated on the back porch and extended to the rear exterior wall before spreading to the second floor and attic.
Free said that there were no electrical issues that could have caused the blaze and came up with two hypotheses: a human act or an ignitable liquid.
Sipes' defense attorney, Russell Montgomery, asked if a smoking device could have caused the fire.
"You do know that people used meth in that house," Montgomery said.
Free said that typically in fires caused by a smoking device, he is able to discover burnt remnants of a cigarette or other device, and he did not find any remnants in the Oct. 14 fire investigation.
Free interviewed the building's tenants, who said they were asleep at the time of the fire and were not smoking on the back porch earlier that night.
Montgomery questioned the validity of their claims.
"Do you really think someone that was smoking meth was going to tell you they were smoking," Montgomery asked.
Free said he was unable to answer Montgomery's question, adding that he is not a meth user and is unsure how a meth user would respond.
Police said they were given screenshots of text messages that a victim received from an unknown suspect that states: "Danny plans on coming back to burn your house down" and "Go dig in your brunt (sic) house with flash lights."
The prosecution also called a male friend of Sipes and Frye who said he was with them before and after the events of Oct. 14.
The witness said he was having a conversation with Frye when Sipes showed up, and after a brief conversation, the two quickly left.
When Sipes returned, the witness said Sipes "reeked of smoke" and his car smelled of gasoline, adding that Sipes later told him to "not answer the door and keep the lights off."
In a recorded conversation with a family member, Sipes said that "people are going to say some s— about me. It's probably all true," court documents state.
Court documents state that a warrant was served on Frye's residence on Fifth Avenue, and during the search, police discovered Frye hiding in a closet upstairs and in possession of meth.
In an interview with police, Frye detailed the events prior to the fire, explaining that an argument took place between Sipes and the residents of the house.
According to Frye, Sipes retrieved a black bag from the trunk of a vehicle and walked over to the house on the 2000 block of Fifth Avenue.
Sipes was gone for 5 to 10 seconds, Frye told police, and when he returned, Sipes "looked like he was fleeing, fast" and "needed to get out of there."
Frye told police that friends had begun sending messages stating "free Danny the arsonist," and over the next several days, Sipes began playing into the banter, even writing on the wall outside her bedroom, "I'll burn your house down with your kids in it, love Danny."
Altoona Police Patrolman John Burns outlined several messages seized from Sipes' multiple phones. Police reportedly found several threatening messages.
In one message, Burns said that Sipes threatened to "burn an entire town down" and in a message to a family member said that "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get out of this one."
Upon hearing testimony from both sides, Jones declared that there was enough evidence for the charges to proceed to court.
Both the defense and the prosecution said they were ready to advance the case to court.
"We have established that a crime was committed," Weeks said.
"My client claims that he is innocent and wants a trial," Montgomery said. "He's ready for trial."
Sipes remains in the Blair County Prison and was denied bail upon arrest.
Mirror Staff Writer Calem Illig is at 814-946-7535.