Pair charged with arson and other felony charges after allegedly burning up money at resort

ST. ANTHONY — Two people were charged with arson for an incident that happened last year at a resort that allegedly involved burning up money.

According to a report filed by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, on Nov. 5, a sergeant said he was contacted by a board member for the Sand Hills Resort. The board member said that David Samples, 48, and Jayme Samples, 44, were employed at the resort as the on-site management team. She said they had a meeting scheduled earlier in the day to meet with them and gather cash from the business to be deposited.

She said that when she and another board member went out for the meeting, the Samples both appeared to be very “off.”

David allegedly told the two board members that they had a fire in the house, and the money bag was burned up. The home is attached to the resort’s store and management offices. According to documents, David told them that he could not sleep and woke up, came out to the kitchen area and saw flames.

He allegedly said he believed the fire started due to his cell phone charger. In the report, David did not tell them how he put the fire out but told the board members he had moved the charred remains out to the garage.

The two board members went to see the burned remains and told police that there should be around $12,000 in cash, but the cash that one of the board members could see that was burned up was all $1 bills and one $10 bill.

In the report, one of the board members said she saw the burned remains were on a metal cookie tray, which seemed odd to her.

The board members contacted insurance.

On Nov. 6, a law enforcement investigator went out to meet with David and Jayme Samples. According to documents, the investigator entered the home to check out the fire scene.

The outlet where the phone was plugged in is directly behind — and inches away from — where the receipt basket had been when it was damaged by fire.

What the Samples say happened

David told the investigator that he discovered the fire early in the morning when he couldn’t sleep and had come out to the living room sofa. He said he thought he smelled something funny and looked to the kitchen, where he saw the reflection of flames on the stainless steel refrigerator door.

He then saw the burning receipts in the plastic basket, grabbed a cookie sheet and put the basket into it, which burned his hands. He then took the smoldering basket to the driveway and put some water onto it.

He said the fire consumed paper in the receipt basket, including cash the Samples said was more than $12,000. Of that money, there were 98 $100 bills which had been in a felt-like moneybag on top of the receipts.

The investigation

The investigator, who “could not smell any odors consistent with that of smoke or a recent fire of any sort,” doubted the Samples’ story.

“In my experience with fire scenes, I have noticed that in most cases as smoke rises, it collects at upper junctions between walls and ceilings and collects around light fixtures and any other attachments where spider webs would commonly be found, creating what looks like blackened spider webs or ‘carbon chains.’ I saw no evidence of smoke or ‘carbon chains’ to this area of the kitchen,” the investigator wrote in the report.

The Fremont County emergency manager, who is also an experienced firefighter, agreed with the investigator on the case that the fire and resulting damages as reported are not consistent with the typical electrical-caused fire.

The only evidence of excessive heat was some melted plastic stuck on the countertop.

In addition, the lack of debris related to the US currency for example stated in the report, “if there had been 98 $100 bills, paper-clipped together as described by the Samples, why is there no debris/evidence of this? Had there been, the bills might have burned partially, but where they were closely clipped, there would not have been sufficient oxygen, resulting in the clip holding remnants of the bills in question.”

In the report, David had also said he saw the fire reflected in the stainless steel doors of the refrigerator from the living room couch.

“I do not believe the angle to be correct related to the position of the appliance, the fire and David Samples to make said reflection visible from his vantage point.”

The report continues to say that David claimed to have burned his hands when he carried the receipt basket outside, “though I saw no injuries to his hands and he wore no bandages or other covers on either hand.”

Idaho state fire marshals then stepped in to also investigate.

“On the way out we noticed a fully charged fire extinguisher sitting on the kitchen counter right next to the door. By the dust on the extinguisher, it appears to have been in the same spot for some time.”

One of the fire marshals concluded that the cell phone charging cord could not possibly have been plugged into the wall outlet in the kitchen where the Samples said it was.

One spot on the countertop appeared to have been damaged at some point, most likely from a heat source but not an active fire.

The report said, “This appears to be a crime of concealment where I suspect the Samples were unable to turn in the business’s receipts and corresponding bank deposit monies because they had already or they planned to use the money for their own personal gain/benefit.”

According to the report, Jayme Samples wrote an email to one of the resort board members. The email appeared to be a disclaimer of sorts by Jayme regarding her character, personal commitment to the resort and she also offered to pay the money lost. Jayme also took responsibility for the loss.

The email stated in part, “I worked way too hard this season to have the fire affect how anyone portrays me or my character. I am honest and hardworking and will work to make you guys as much money as possible. … If the insurance doesn’t cover the money lost, I will pay SHR $12,000. … I know the fire was an accident, I could not plan that nor would I want to.”

Booked into jail

The Samples have been booked into the Fremont County Jail on a $30,000 bond and are each charged with two felonies. Jayme is facing a charge of third-degree arson and grand theft. David is facing third-degree arson and accessory after the fact.

David and Jayme were scheduled for an arraignment on Monday before Judge Faren Eddins in Fremont County Magistrate Court.