Reno arson suspect still being sought

Tuesday, June 13, 2000 | 10:24 a.m.

"What we are trying to stress ... is we don't think they are responsible for some of the other major fires that have occurred," Reno police Sgt. Pat Murray said Monday. "We still need the public's help on those."

Jason Scott Stokely and William Hermant are both 20 and described as being mentally disabled. They were arrested early Saturday after a paramedic saw them walking away from the area of a small brush fire.

Stokely and Hermant are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Reno Justice Court. Both are jailed on $17,500 bail.

Hermant's father, Bill Hermant, said his son is mentally retarded and has the intelligence of a 7-year-old.

"He knows the difference between right and wrong to some degree, but to him when you say sorry it's supposed to be all better," Hermant told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Stokely and William Hermant met in special education classes at Sparks High School, Bill Hermant said. They also competed together in the Special Olympics.

William Hermant had been living with Stokely at an apartment complex across the street the Saint Mary's medical plaza, which sustained more than $1 million in damage during a May 27 blaze.

A surveillance camera recorded two men spreading gasoline around the complex and lighting the fire.

Murray said the pair told investigators they like to watch the fire burn and see the fire trucks racing to the scene.

Bill Hermant described his son as a loving kid who likes to play baseball and ride his motorcycle but who cannot read or write. He is also lonely, the father said.

"It's not just him," Bill Hermant said. "Most of these kids with developmental problems will do anything to have a friend. They will do anything to be normal."

Investigators have no evidence connecting Stokely and William Hermant to other arson fires around the city and both have denied involvement in those incidents, Murray said.