Digital Bulletin

WARWICK -- After a long, emotional day of testimony from friends and family of people killed in The Station nightclub fire, Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. imposed the expected sentences against club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian.

"This court has always been acutely aware that no resolution -- either by trial or plea agreement -- would ever satisfy anyone or everyone," Darigan said just before handing down the sentences stemming from the state's worst fire.

Michael Derderian, who was ordered to serve four years in prison, was immediately taken into custody, while Jeffrey Derderian was given a suspended sentence and free to leave the Kent County Courthouse.

The Derderians, who had initially pleaded not guilty, each changed their pleas today to no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. A no contest plea is equivalent to a guilty plea under Rhode Island law, according to Darigan.

The pleas conclude the criminal cases against the owners of the West Warwick club, where 100 people died and another 200 were injured in a fast-moving fire Feb. 20, 2003. The fire started when a band's pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable soundproofing foam near the stage.

The fire, one of the worst in the nation's history, attracted national attention, and today's change of plea hearing drew a crush of media and spectators. The proceedings were televised nationally by Court TV, broadcast on local stations and streamed live online.

News that the Derderians planned to change their pleas became public last month and spawned outrage among some family members of the victims. Darigan last week announced the sentences he planned to impose. Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said he did not agree to the sentence and wanted both men to serve time in prison.

Many of the more than two-dozen family members who gave victim impact statements today expressed frustration that the case would not go to trial and that Jeffrey Derderian would not serve time.

For much of the hearing, they took turns telling heartbreaking stories of loss. And for some, today signified the second major disappointment with the Rhode Island judicial system after Great White band manager Daniel Biechele was sentenced to four years in prison after changing his plea to guilty in May.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Jeffrey Derderian, center right, reacts as he, his brother Michael, center left, and their lawyers listen to the victim impact statements today.

Addressing Darigan in court, Diane Mattera, who lost daughter Tammy Mattera-Housa, said:

"I don't need to tell you how distraught and disgusted I was when I learned you decided the man who literally lit the fuse that night would serve no more than four years in the ACI. I was inconsolable."

"The only thought that kept me going was the promise that when September came, things would be different. When September came, there would be a trial, and there would be no way the brothers would get away with their crimes."

She called the Derderian's sentences merely "slaps on their wrists."

Then, it was the brothers' turn to address the packed courtroom.

"This tragedy has our name on it," Jeffrey Derderian said.

As he spoke from a handwritten statement, Derderian broke down, saying, "I wish I could give you back what you lost, but I know I can't."

A former television reporter who was at the club the night of the fire, Derderian said there have been many times that he wished he himself had died. As he spoke, brother Michael, who had presented an almost stoic front all day, dropped his head on the table, his face grimacing in pain.

Before imposing the sentences, Darigan spent about a half hour explaining the law and why he decided to let the Derderians explain their pleas.

Darigan ignored a request by William Ferland, an assistant attorney general, to change his mind and sentence both brothers to prison.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Paula McMcLaughlin, left, sister of fire victim Michael Hoogasian, her mother, Claire Hoogasian, and husband, Jay McLaughlin, made their feelings plain, spurring a brief recess.

As expected, Darigan then sentenced Michael Derderian to 15 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions, with 4 years to be served in minimum security, the remaining 11 years suspended. In addition, he will be ordered into a work-release program and serve 3 years probation after completing his sentence.

Jeffrey Derderian was given a 10-year suspended sentence, with 500 hours of "appropriate" community service and 3 years of probation.

The Derderians were initially each charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter, two for each of the 100 people who died. After they changed their pleas, 100 of those counts were dismissed for each brother because the Constitution's double jeopardy clause prevents them from being punished twice for each death.

"Sheriff, you may take custody of the defendant," Darigan said, immediately after imposing both sentences.

Michael Derderian was then led away by sheriffs.

While the criminal case may be over, the pain and frustration continues for many who lost loved ones in the fire.

Angel O. Amitrano, who lost her father, Thomas Barnett, in the fire still finds herself wanting to talk to him.

"I pick up the phone still to call my father, and I have to hang up the phone and cry."

Shortly after the Derderians' sentences were announced, a large group of friends and family of the fire victims huddled near the courthouse front doors. A horde of television cameras and photographers stood by the parking garage about 100 yards away.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

While he recognized their frustrations, Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. also admonished some of those giving victim impact statements to stay within specified guidelines.

As the group began wandering toward the garage, they were confronted by the cameras. Some stopped and talked to probing reporters. Others escaped into the garage.

Linda Fischer was among those who stopped. The 37-year-old Cranston woman had undergone 12 surgeries and spent three weeks in a coma after being burned in The Station fire. The scars on her face, chest and arms are visible today.

She said that the Derderians -- Jeffrey especially -- sounded sincere while addressing the court, but she wanted to hear more. Although each Derderian brother repeatedly said he was sorry while addressing the court, neither entered a guilty plea.

"If they truly felt they had done something wrong, they would have pleaded guilty," she said. "I wanted them to be more like Dan Biechele."

Early this evening, Attorney General Lynch pledged to release evidence and other material collected as his office prepared for the brothers' trials as soon as possible.