Oregon Man’s Felony Case Bound Over to Natrona County District Court 25 Years After Alleged Arson

Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you. And for an Oregon man who once lived in Casper, that is true. That is, if the allegations are true.

His case stems from decades-old charges.

44 year old Albert Goddard was arrested last March on a criminal warrant and his case has since been bound over to District Court.

Goddard is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Court records show that in the early hours of August 18th in 1999 deputies from the Natrona County Sheriffs Office along with Mills Police officers and fire units were called to Country Side Court for a reported arson.

According to statements made at the scene, an incendiary device had been thrown through the window of a mobile home with two children and six adults inside. One victim took her 9 month old child to the hospital to be treated afterwards. The other victims did not need medical attention according to court records.

Inside the mobile home on the sofa sleeper, investigators discovered a bottle with a rag stuffed into its top.

Around midnight just before the alleged arson, an altercation had taken place outside the trailer court where the mobile home was parked.

Eventually the groups involved left. Some went to a house party at another location. Recorded interviews with witnesses indicate that it was there that an alleged plan was hatched to make the molotov cocktail.

At one point in the investigation, Goddard—then around 19 years old—admitted to officers that he had syphoned the gas out of his vehicle and into an empty "forty."

The affadavit says several of the party-goers were then rallied to go back to the trailer court in 3-4 cars to "finish" the fight that had been started earlier.

Obvservers said they had seen the bottle on the kitchen counter before going back to the mobile home, but didn't believe it would actually be used.

At about 3:36 a.m. three cars converged at the mobile home's address. Witnesses claimed that another person—whose name we have left out due to being a minor at the time—threw the cocktail at the trailer, but it instead landed on the grass. Then another person picked it up and threw it through the window.

That was echoed by the victims, who all heard a thud on the side of the trailer seconds before the window broke and furniture ignited.

Natrona County court records don't show any related charges for the other young adults listed as possibly involved in the case.

Goddard faces 20 years in prison if convicted for the charges: two counts of first degree arson.

He is currently out of jail on a $7,500 cash or surety bond.

His case has put on the trial stack for August 19, 2024. Judge Daniel Forgey has approved a request for the defendant to appear by telephone and Microsoft Teams.

Goddard is being represented by Ryan Semerad.