DUBOIS – A DuBois woman will stand trial for allegedly setting a fire in a local club’s restroom after a bartender denied her alcohol.
Desiree Marie Updyke, 31, 215 S. Church St., DuBois, is charged with 19 counts of arson-danger of death or bodily injury, arson-inhabited building, risking a catastrophe, criminal mischief, 19 counts of recklessly endangering another person, and disorderly conduct.
After a preliminary hearing Friday, District Judge Patrick Ford ruled all charges be sent on to the court of common pleas. She is free on $50,000 unsecured bail. One of the conditions of her bail prohibits her from consuming alcohol.
The charges stem from an incident during the early hours of Nov. 15 at the Sandy Club on Forest Avenue in DuBois.
The first witness was the bartender, Tammy Butlin, who was working that evening at the club. She said Updyke and her husband were both at the bar drinking.
Toward the end of the night Butlin felt Updyke was so intoxicated that she should not have another drink. Updyke had already consumed seven or eight bottles of lite beer.
When Updyke did ask for another drink she was told by Butlin that she had enough. Updyke rolled her eyes at her husband, Butlin said, and stated that she had to “listen to this without a drink.” Butlin told Updyke’s husband to take her home.
Updkye continued to argue with Butlin and was upset that her husband was able to continue drinking. She also argued with him because he wasn’t sticking up for her. This exchange went back and forth, Butlin said until Updyke went into the bathroom.
She was in there about five minutes or so, Butlin testified before she returned to the bar. Shortly after, Butlin noticed smoke coming from the bathroom.
Butlin went to the restroom door and opened it. Black smoke came out, she said. She then yelled at everyone to get out and she called 911.
During cross examination by Updyke’s attorney, Brian Manchester, Butlin explained that normally Updyke was a “happy drunk,” and this was not typical behavior for her. Usually she and her husband were shut off around the same time at the end of the night, and Updyke was upset on this night because her husband was able to continue to drink.
Butlin also confirmed that she saw no one else enter the bathroom after Updyke left it. She stated she kept watching because Updyke was acting odd and she wanted her husband to take her home.
The time between Updyke leaving the restroom and Butlin seeing the smoke was about three minutes, she said.
Patty Marsh testified that she was at the Sandy Club that night and went into the restroom’s first stall around 2:30 a.m. Every thing at that point was normal and no one else was in there, she said.
Another witness at the scene, Brian Marnatti, testified that he smelled smoke that night and saw it was coming from the bathroom. When he opened the door, black smoke came out of one of the stalls. He found a fire extinguisher and was able to put the fire out.
He also testified that he was the one who provided security camera footage to investigators. He viewed the footage himself, which showed Updyke entering the bathroom and exiting just before the smoke was seen, he said.
Cpl. Greg Agosti, fire marshal for the Pennsylvania State Police, testified that he investigated the fire. It started in the first bathroom stall where there was burned material on the floor and plastic.
“The fire started on the floor and went up the wall,” he said.
A toilet paper dispenser had been consumed by the fire but there was wadded up toilet paper on the floor in the other stall that did not catch on fire.
He viewed the surveillance footage and also saw Updyke enter the bathroom with a lit cigarette. She was in there for four minutes before leaving. Shortly after this, smoke was visible and no one else had entered the room.
Agosti stated he did a recreation to determine the origin of the fire. This included trying to set toilet paper on fire with a lit cigarette. Although the paper would light, it would burn out quickly, he said. The only trial that matched the fire pattern and damage from the bathroom, involved using a direct flame on a roll of toilet paper with wadded up toilet paper in the center in the toilet paper dispenser.
He determined the cause of this fire was a direct flame, which would be a match or lighter, he said.
When asked by District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. if there was any danger to the patrons in the club that night, Agosti said “absolutely.” There was a risk of smoke inhalation and the fire could have easily gotten to the ceiling. He noted that Marnatti put himself in danger when he extinguished the fire.