SAN ANTONIO — The trial for the man accused of starting a fire that killed a San Antonio firefighter is set to begin Sep. 18, after attorneys for Emond Johnson on Wednesday met with prosecutors and settled on the start date.
Johnson is suspected of setting his own gym on fire in May of 2017. San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem died trying to put out the blaze as it ripped through the Ingram Square Shopping Center.
Another firefighter, Brad Phipps, was also hurt but survived.
This isn't the first time a date has been set for Johnson's trail to begin, however, and Deem's family's pursuit of justice has been met with delays for years. The pandemic set it back multiple times, and in 2019 Johnson's attorneys tried to move it elsewhere, arguing he would not get a fair trail in Bexar County due to extensive media publicity surrounding the case.
A judge denied that motion.
If the case succeeds in going to trial this time, it will have been six years after the deadly shopping center fire. Investigators believe the gym owner set it because he was late on rent payments.
Johnson is facing multiple charges in connection with the incident, including murder. Deem's death changed the way the San Antonio Fire Department now educates and trains its crews.
Pretrial motions for Johnson are scheduled for August.
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