Judge to determine if Jeannette man understood rights in arson case
Sep. 27—A Westmoreland County judge is being asked to determine whether a Jeannette man was capable of understanding his rights and whether a statement he made to police in a deadly 2018 row house fire was voluntary.
Brian E. Rendon, 38, is charged with homicide and arson in the April 9, 2018, death of Shirley Kocherhans, 87. A woman who lived at her South Seventh Street apartment was injured in the blaze. About a dozen others were left homeless.
During a pretrial motion hearing Monday, attorneys presented opposing views from psychiatrists regarding Rendon's ability to understand his rights and questions from police.
Robert Wettstein and Bruce Wright testified that Rendon has an IQ of 70, which is lower than the average of 100. Their opinions differed when it came to Rendon's intellectual abilities.
Wettstein, testifying for the defense, concluded Rendon didn't have the ability to waive his rights when talking to police in April and May 2018 and said Rendon has disabilities that impair his intellectual function.
"Mr. Rendon would attempt to guess what would be in the mind of the interviewer and attempt to please him," Wettstein said.
Wright testified that Rendon has learning disorders but was able to understand questions during an evaluation.
"It's my opinion ... that he had the capacity to understand his right to remain silent, his right to have an attorney present" and not to incriminate himself, Wright said.
Westmoreland County Detective John Clark testified that Rendon voluntarily spoke with investigators in April and May 2018 after they identified him as being seen in an alley behind the row houses just before the fire broke out. In both instances, he was never handcuffed or under arrest, Clark testified.
It appeared that Rendon understood he was speaking to investigators voluntarily, Clark said.
"He seemed to understand by the way he answered questions," he said.
Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said she would review recordings of Rendon's statements to police before making a decision. In 2019, Rendon was found competent to stand trial.
In November, he rejected a plea deal that would have called for him to plead guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree homicide and other offenses. Defense attorneys said then that they opted to shift to a new trial strategy that suggested his confession was not to be believed.
Rendon also faces an arson charge in connection with a blaze set two days earlier at his Jeannette home. No one was injured in that incident.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .
