Prosecutor refutes claims police failed to preserve evidence in Troy insurance fraud case

Nov. 30--A county prosecutor is refuting claims from the co-owners of a Troy auto shop that police failed to preserve the burned truck at the center of the insurance fraud case against them.

Rather, Assistant Cheshire County Attorney John M. Gasaway Jr. argues in court documents that Jodi A. Champney and her brother Jay Coppo, co-owners of J&J Auto Body, sold the 1987 Peterbilt wrecker in 2012 to an out-of-state buyer for $55,000 cash as part of a cover-up. But police lacked sufficient evidence to charge them, then, with the crime, he said.

Gasaway filed his objection Oct. 22 in response to a request from Champney's attorney, Richard C. Guerriero Jr. of Keene, to dismiss the felony case.

Guerriero maintains the prosecution doesn't have a case without the truck. Furthermore, he argues, the defense can't examine the vehicle, and thereby challenge the state's evidence to ensure Champney's right to a fair trial.

Earlier this month, the parties agreed to a day-long evidentiary hearing before Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. to further argue the facts relevant to the motion for dismissal. That hearing's scheduled for Jan. 25 in Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene.

Because of the hearing, the court has postponed Champney's trial from January to June. Coppo is still set to stand trial in March, pending no further delays.

Coppo, 51, of Troy and Champney, 46, of Winchester each face two counts of insurance fraud between Jan. 26, 2012, and May 11, 2012. Prosecutors allege a fire was intentionally set to the wrecker Jan. 26, 2012, for the purpose of collecting insurance money. That insurance settlement totaled about $60,000, according to Gasaway.

Guerriero wrote in his September request to dismiss the case that the auto shop sold the remains of the truck in 2012, before authorities could adequately document its charred condition.

"Champney can hardly be faulted for not preserving the truck herself on the off-chance that someday, years later, someone might claim that the cause of the fire was arson," he wrote.

The state didn't file charges against Champney and Coppo until 2014, although a N.H. State Police affidavit reveals that authorities speculated about the fire in the months and years after it happened.

Gasaway wrote in his objection to Guerriero's motion for dismissal that "The police acted in good faith when they allowed Champney and Coppo to keep the truck." He shot down accusations from the defense that police acted with negligence.

The burned-out cab is with the out-of-state buyer and could be available for the defense to review, Gasaway wrote. He also noted that the buyer took photographs of the fire damage to the truck and shared them with N.H. State Police. Those photographs -- in addition to ones taken by the N.H. Fire Marshal's Office and Troy police -- are available as part of the evidence in the case, he said.

Two people employed at the business in early 2012, Christopher Pratt, 33, of Gilsum and Craig Fields, 33, of Swanzey, accepted plea deals for their role in the incident. Fields pleaded guilty in October 2014 to a felony count of accomplice to arson and Pratt pleaded guilty Nov. 5 to a felony count of criminal mischief.

Both avoided immediate jail time; Fields was ordered to serve his six-month sentence on electronic monitoring with home confinement and Pratt's nine-month sentence was suspended on conditions of good behavior.

Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1435, or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ADandreaKS.

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