Where’s the Fire?

PASADENA, Calif. - Three men who used a thermal lance to rob an ATM should not have had been convicted under a statute that covers anyone who "uses fire ... to commit any felony," the 9th Circuit ruled Thursday.

A divided three-judge panel handed down the decision, reversing the convictions and vacating the sentences of Clinton Elwyn Thompson III, Tavrion Dawson and Samuel Anthony Eaton.

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