SEATTLE — A Washington appeals court has ruled Seattle arsonist Martin Pang must pay back nearly $1 million in restitution and costs associated with the deadly 1995 fire that killed four Seattle firefighters.
Seattlepi.com reports a three-judge Court of Appeals panel blocked an attempt by Pang to ignore his financial obligations.
In the opinion released Monday, the court ruled Pang still owes $984,570 in court-ordered payments. Some of the money is meant to compensate the families of the firefighters he killed, who were also awarded millions of dollars through several civil lawsuits.
Pang, who is still in prison, acted as his own attorney and argued the state had failed to seek an extension on the amount of time it had to collect payments from him. That time limit is usually capped at 10 years. King County prosecutors responded that the 10-year period begins after the inmate is released.
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