Menu
Bollinger pleads not guilty
FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- A local man pleaded not guilty in Bourbon County District Court on Friday to charges he faces in connection with a deadly October 2011 house fire.
Brent Bollinger appeared in the courtroom before Bourbon County District Judge Mark Ward with his attorney, Paul Morrison, a former Kansas attorney general. Also present were the prosecutors, Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson and Assistant Kansas Attorney General Kristiane Bryant.
Bollinger, who was arrested and charged Jan. 27 and is still being held in the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center on a $1 million cash surety bond, pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder, premeditated, an off-grid felony, or in the alternative, felony murder; one count of aggravated arson, a severity level three person felony; and one count of aggravated child endangerment, a severity level nine person felony.
The first-degree murder charge holds a potential sentence of life in prison. The aggravated arson count carries a minimum sentence of 55 months to 247 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections and the charge of aggravated child endangerment carries a possible five-17 month term in the KDOC.
Ward asked Bollinger if he understood the penalties for the alleged offenses and informed him that he has a right to a speedy trial unless he chooses to waive that right, which Bollinger did.
Clad in an orange jumpsuit with cuffs on his wrists and ankles, Bollinger appeared somber with his head held down throughout the proceeding.
Ward discussed with attorneys in the case a possible jury trial date. He said "realistically" a jury trial would not begin until next year and no trial date was set Friday.
A hearing on pre-trial motions was set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29.
Ward said the deadline for all motions to be on file is on or before Monday, Nov. 12.
A two-day preliminary hearing in July found enough evidence to bind Bollinger over for trial. Fire investigators, law enforcement and fire personnel, and other witnesses testified during the proceeding.
On Oct. 13, 2011, Bollinger and his 2-year-old son, Bryson, survived the house fire on Grand Road just south of Fort Scott. His wife, Brenna, died in the blaze. Brent suffered burns on more than 69 percent of his body.
Bryson was flown to Shriners Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, with critical burns and was released about a month later. Brent was flown to the University of Kansas Hospital.
The KBI and Kansas State Fire Marshal assisted local authorities in the investigation.
The Kansas Highway Patrol, the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office, the Fort Scott Fire Department, and rural fire departments were dispatched to the scene.