A Kentucky State Police arson investigator testified Wednesday in Madison District Court that he believes a Berea man and his girlfriend set fire to the man’s parents’ home to cover up the theft of a mandolin that was later pawned for $600.

Michael Clarke Shoopman and his girlfriend, Marisa Nichole Pearson, each are charged with a single count of second-degree arson for the Nov. 19, 2008, fire at Shoopman’s parents’ home on Bratcher Lane in Berea.

Arson investigator Detective Pat Alford testified during a preliminary hearing for the couple that he believes the fire started when combustible materials were set on fire on a couch in the home.

The couple are suspected of being involved with the fire after a neighbor saw a white SUV similar to Shoopman’s leave the home and noticed flames in a window of the home, Alford said.

The Berea Fire Department assisted Alford in searching the remains of the home for clues to the cause of the fire, as well as for several objects that were believed to be in the home, but were unable to find any remains of the mandolin.

Further investigation by Richmond police into alleged fraudulent use of a credit card indicated the mandolin and several other items were pawned at a Richmond pawn shop in December.

On cross-examination by Shoopman’s attorney, public defender Valetta Browne, Alford testified that he did not perform any tests to see if any accelerants were used in starting the fire, and said it was his belief that a homemade lamp which was near the couch could not have started the fire.

The lamp, which had a compact fluorescent bulb, had a glass globe covering the bulb, Alford testified, although when he began investigating, he found the globe separated from the lamp and sitting on the burned remains of the couch.

Browne also asked Alford to elaborate on his theory of the case, pointing out that a number of other valuables, including more than $3,800 in prescription medication for Shoopman, who had one leg in a cast at the time of the fire, were left in the home.

Pearson’s attorney, Wes Browne, also asked Alford about the lamp and the globe, and asked how Alford had determined the fire was started intentionally even though no tests for accelerants were conducted.

Wes Browne also asked if Alford had spoken to a Berea-based electrical inspector regarding an electrical outlet near some drapes behind the couch.

Both attorneys asked Senior Judge David Hayse to find no probable cause to send the case to a Madison County grand jury, citing the possibility the fire was accidentally started by an electrical problem and the fact that both defendants had numerous possessions inside the home at the time of the fire.

Hayse said he found “some cause” and sent the cases on to a grand jury, but agreed to lower Shoopman’s bond from $100,000 full cash to a 10 percent $50,000 cash bond. Pearson is free on the same bond.

Rape charges

Charges against a 21-year-old man accused of three counts of third-degree rape and one count of first-degree sexual abuse after police and social services investigators found a 15-year-old girl living with him were sent to a grand jury following his preliminary hearing.

Kenneth Ervin was charged after social services received a tip that the girl was living with him in a trailer on Keri Ann Drive after Ervin called Richmond police to report a burglary.

Officers accompanied the social services agents to the trailer to investigate, and the girl told social services that she was having a sexual relationship with Ervin. Police then took Ervin to the Richmond Police Department for an interview, where he told police he believed the relationship was legal because the girl’s parents had given her permission to live with him.

The girl, a native of South Carolina, did have permission from her parents to visit Ervin during the summer, Richmond Detective Eric Long told Ervin’s attorney, public defender Meena Mohanty during cross-examination.

Ervin and the girl were apparently in a romantic relationship, Long testified, according to statements the girl made using an account on the social networking site MySpace.

Berea mother pleads

A Berea woman who was charged with second-degree criminal abuse after police found her 2-year-old child wandering in a parking lot near US 25 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in the case.

Elizabeth Bowman, 30, had all but 11 days of a 360-day jail sentence probated for two years after Madison County Attorney Marc Robbins amended the charge to endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor.

Bowman is required to abide by all decisions of the Madison Family Court as part of her probation. The family court case was opened in connection with the criminal charge.

Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.