Featured photo: Franklin Richard
FLINT – Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said a jury found a Flint man guilty of murder in the arson related death of his father.
Franklin La-Wan Richard, 42, was found guilty of killing his 78-year-old father, Fred Gordon, after setting fire to Gordon’s apartment on Penbrook Lane, in the city of Flint. The fire occurred the evening of August 23, 2023. Richard is convicted of first-degree murder, felony murder and arson.
According to testimony at trial and the police investigation, a tenant of an apartment below Gordon’s called 9-1-1 earlier in the evening to report an apparent domestic violence situation in an apartment above hers. The 9-1-1 caller reported it sounded like furniture being thrown around. Later, she heard a voice she recognized as being Richard state that he was going to burn the place down and nobody was going to get
out. The caller’s boyfriend then looked out the window and could see flames coming from the apartment above.
When City of Flint police and firefighters arrived at the apartment building, they witnessed a man later identified as Richard jumping to safety from a second-floor balcony.
Gordon was described as frail and weak and was unable to jump. He perished in the fire.
While police and firefighters were attending to the overall situation, Richard began making excited utterances claiming that he had set the apartment on fire. At that point, Richard was handcuffed by police.
Testimony at trial indicated that Richard had a drug addiction and was impaired by drugs at the time of the incident. The jury indicated after the trial that regardless of any impairment, there was evidence presented that Richard was aware of what he was doing.
“This was a very sad and tragic case but, justice has been served,” said Leyton after the verdict was read.
Prosecutor Leyton credited the City of Flint police and fire department and his staff for seeing justice through, including Lead Trial attorney Jonathan Poulos, Assistant Prosecutor Judith Fullerton who handled the District Court proceedings- including the preliminary examination and their support team of clerical staff and victim advocates.
Richard faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced on October 20.
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