This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Arson Suspect's Mother Ordered to Remain in Jail Without Bail

Court appoints Dorothee Burkhart an attorney in her fight against possible extradition to Germany to face fraud charges.

An attorney was appointed Tuesday to represent the mother of a man suspected of setting dozens of fires in Hollywood, West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley over New Year's weekend.

During a hearing in which she again ranted against the legal systems in the United States and Germany, 53-year-old was given the services of attorney Michael Belter to help her in her fight against possible extradition to Germany to face fraud charges.

"If you send me to Germany, I can't fight anything and I will be killed," Burkhart told U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Nagle, who found Burkhart to be indigent and therefore entitled to the free services of a lawyer. Nagle also ordered that Burkhart remain jailed without bail.

Find out what's happening in West Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Harry is charged with 37 felony counts of arson and is being held in lieu of $2.85 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 24.

Police in Vancouver, Canada, are investigating whether the arson suspect is responsible for a last year. He is also suspected in connection with a fire at his family's former home in Germany.

Find out what's happening in West Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jan. 2 in connection with the four-day arson spree that began shortly after his mother's arrest. The fires occurred at 53 locations, mostly in Hollywood and West Hollywood, but also in North Hollywood and Burbank, and caused an estimated $3 million in damage.

A warrant for Dorothee Burkhart's arrest was issued in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2007, according to court papers.

She is accused of subletting apartments that she did not own, failing to pay rent and security deposits on other locations, and defrauding a Frankfurt cosmetic surgeon out of the equivalent of about $10,000 for breast augmentation surgery for which she never paid, according to court papers.

Belter said after the hearing the U.S. Attorney's Office has 40 days from the time of Dorothee Burkhart's Dec. 28 arrest to show there is a case pending against her in Germany. He also said she will be allowed to present evidence at a later hearing that she is entitled to bail.

Belter said his client's son is apparently autistic.

When Dorothee Burkhart was initially brought into the courtroom, she railed against media sketch artists, saying they had drawn pictures of her that inaccurately depicted her.

"I'm friendly, a very good woman," she said. "And please, gentleman, I am not a prostitute. Whoever says this will be sued."

She also defended herself and her son against accusations relating to the fires.

"I didn't do anything and my son didn't do this arson," she said. "My son is mentally ill. We are the victims, we are not criminals."  

At one point Dorothee Burkhart was removed from the courtroom and then brought back shortly before Nagle took the bench. She complained she had been manhandled during her removal by U.S. marshals.

Nagle repeatedly warned the woman not to interrupt her when she was talking and to not make remarks having nothing to do with the potential extradition.

"You really can't be making speeches that aren't relative to the proceedings," Nagle said.

As she was being escorted from the courtroom when the hearing ended, Dorothee Burkhart kept talking. "If you see my son tell him I love him," she said. "Never leave him alone to die here."

Stay up to date on West Hollywood news and events, by following @WehoPatch and “like” on Facebook.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.