SWAIT Reno 2027
WHEN
FEBRUARY 2, 3 & 4, 2027
WHERE
REGIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER
5190 Spectrum Blvd
Reno, NV 89506
In Person
Early Registration
$410 per person
Late Registration
after January 4th, 2027
$450 per person
On Demand/Virtual
$295
Hotel
We have reserved a limited number of rooms are at GovRate ($156/night) at the Element Reno. See our travel page for details and booking link.
Subscribe to our newsletter for articles, article links and analysis, and training updates. We post occasionally throughout the year and send out a newsletter every few months.
Is your agency looking for specialty training in wildland arson? Contact us for your wildland arson training needs.
Support@invfconsultants.com
Synopsis:
This year’s training will focus on a higher level of case linkage and analysis than we’ve ever presented before. Experienced speakers will help attendees hone advanced skills for “pulling more information from a rural fire scene,” connecting a series of arson events through forensics, witness interviews, tracking techniques, geo‑spatial analysis, and behavioral analysis. This will be followed by a detailed examination of a real major series of unsolved fires (including arson murders) and analysis of all evidence located to date. This will be one of the most advanced classes we have ever presented.
A highly experienced arson prosecutor who has received international awards will provide practical training on legal issues associated with wildland arson and will present a large serial-arson case he successfully adjudicated.
Real-world serial/wildland arson investigation training is hard to come by. Networking opportunities abound at this high-caliber event. We invite you to join us in Reno and encourage you to bring colleagues for this invaluable experience.
Make sure to sign up for the newsletter for additional training updates and keep an eye on the website for additional information on SWAIT Reno 2027.
Due to high demand, the course will once again be offered “live On Demand” or streaming for a limited time for those unable to attend in person.
Schedule
Day 1
Tuesday Feb 2, 2027
0745-0800 Check-in
0800 - 0815 Opening Remarks
Nordskog/Taylor/Fischer
0815 - 1200 Maximizing Your Investigation for Successful Prosecution
Sean M. Carney
1315 - 1700 Beyond the Fire Scene: The Forensic Interpretation of Human Movement
Randy Anglin
Day 2
Wednesday Feb 3, 2027
0800 - 1000 Presenter Scheduled, awaiting course materials
1015 - 1200 Practical Link Analysis through Incendiary Devises Case Study
Joe Konefal
1315 - 1700 People vs Vasquez: Digital Evidence Strategies and Analysis
Mat Grindley
Day 3
Thursday Feb 4, 2027
0800 - 1200 Technology and the Arson Investigation
Jesse Sprague
1315 - 1630 Timothy West Arson Case Study
Nicholas Yale
Nathan Riding
We reserve the right to change the schedule due to unforeseen circumstances and last minute cancellations from our speakers. The speaker or the agency/company they work for are responsible for the content of their presentations. Opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of INVF Consultants and the Serial Wildland Arson Investigation Training. See Terms and Conditions for additional details.
Nicholas Yale
Investigations Sergant
Toole County Sheriff’s Office
Contact: nicholas.yale@tooeleco.gov
Sergeant Nicholas Yale has served with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office since April 2011. Throughout his career, he has served in patrol and investigations, promoting to Sergeant in October 2016. Since January 2020, he has served as an Investigations Sergeant, supervising detectives and overseeing complex criminal investigations. His experience includes homicide investigations, fraud and theft cases, major crimes, and Internet Crimes Against Children investigations. He has also served as a firearms instructor since 2014 and is committed to leadership, professional development, mentoring, and maintaining high standards of service to the community.
Class Topic: People vs Vasquez: Digital Evidence Strategies and Analysis
Class Synopsis: Timothy West, a Stockton, Utah, resident, has a documented history of arson offenses dating back to at least 2010. In July 2014, West pleaded guilty to arson and causing a catastrophe after starting a wildfire near Stockton that burned approximately 179 acres, forced the evacuation of eight homes, damaged three residences, and destroyed a water tank serving the community. The damage was reported to exceed $1 million.
After being released on parole in 2018, West was arrested again in June 2026 following multiple fires in Stockton and Lake Point. Investigators used witness statements, surveillance footage, Flock license plate reader data, and physical evidence to help establish a timeline and investigate his involvement. West subsequently pleaded guilty to three felony arson counts and, on August 31, 2026, was sentenced to three consecutive prison terms of zero to five years each, allowing for up to 15 years of incarceration.
Joe Konefal
Contact: joekonefal@gmail.com
Joe Konefal is a retired Supervising Bomb/Arson Investigator for the California State Fire Marshal (CAL FIRE). He has worked over 40 years in this profession and has been involved in over 1100 investigations, and testified dozens of times on arson related incidents. Joe is a long-time instructor for the State of California in Arson-Explosion and Fire Death issues. He was also a teaching member of the Forensic Fire Death Investigation Course for several years. Joe continues to be a consultant in arson related cases, a courtroom expert, and an internationally known instructor. Joe is also a SWAIT staff Leader and Mentor.
Class Topic: Practical Link Analysis through Incendiary Devises Case Study
Class Synopsis: Joe will present a bizarre case study involving a very unique arsonist, turned bomber, who set several fires with increasingly more bizarre and dangerous incendiary devices. This case study, where Joe was the Lead Investigator, is one of the rare looks students will get at an "evolution" in the type and sophistication of a series of incendiary devices", it will also show how a case has been linked geographically to an offender despite an ever-evolving M.O.
Randy Anglin
Lionstrike, LLC
Contact: randy@lionstrike.com (602) 696-0161
Randy is an Arizona-licensed private investigator, forensic consultant, and instructor specializing in forensic photography, surveillance, accident reconstruction, and the forensic interpretation of human movement.
Randy began his law enforcement career in 1984 and later served with the Arizona Department of Public Safety in the Highway Patrol Bureau and Vehicular Crimes Unit. His investigative experience includes major criminal investigations, crime scene processing, forensic photography, footwear evidence, evidence recovery, surveillance, and reconstruction.
His tracking experience has included specialized training with the United States Border Patrol, fugitive and forensic tracking operations, human-remains recovery, and the study of behavioral decision-making during pursuit and evasion. In 2006, he authored a white paper examining the “Psychology of the Chase” and the behavioral dynamics associated with pursuit and evasion.
Since retiring from AZDPS, Randy has continued to provide investigative, surveillance, forensic, and training services to government and private-sector clients. He has taught investigators throughout the United States and Canada, including fire, arson, and explosion investigators, and has previously presented “Forensic Tracking as it Relates to Fire Investigations.”
Randy is a Board Certified Evidence Photographer, recipient of the Evidence Photographers International Association’s R.H. Haskin Award for Meritorious Service in forensic photography, and an instructor for professional organizations including the International Association of Arson Investigators.
Class Topic: Beyond the Fire Scene: The Forensic Interpretation of Human Movement
Class Synopsis: Every human movement leaves a record. In wildland investigations, that record may be distributed across photographs, witness statements, surveillance video, license plate reader data, timelines, discarded property, environmental changes, and occasionally traditional ground sign.
This presentation examines how investigators can recognize those seemingly independent observations as parts of a larger behavioral and investigative landscape. Attendees will explore how movement, route selection, terrain interaction, decision points, displacement, transfer, discarded property, and even absence can help reconstruct human activity before, during, and after a fire.
Rather than teaching tactical tracking or the pursuit of a continuous trail, the presentation focuses on investigative reasoning and the forensic interpretation of movement. Through photographs, mapping, timelines, physical evidence, and wildland case studies, attendees will examine how multiple independent sources of information can be integrated into a defensible reconstruction of human activity.
The goal is to help investigators look beyond the immediate fire scene and recognize relationships within the larger landscape that might otherwise remain disconnected.
Jesse Spague
Ecospectra.com
Contact: Jesse@ecospectra.com
Jesse Sprague is a geospatial data scientist and software engineer, and the founder and CEO of Ax0n Intelligence Company, maker of the Echospectra fire investigation platform. His work centers on acquiring, processing, and defensibly presenting spatial and remotely sensed data for fire intelligence, including investigation and forensic reconstruction.
He has supported prosecutors, counsel, insurers, and utilities on arson, serial arson, and wildfire matters involving witness-media geolocation, cell-location mapping, fire progression reconstruction, and exhibit development. He has instructed CAL FIRE law enforcement and the California Conference of Arson Investigators, and has presented at conferences in the United States and Europe.
He holds a B.S. in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of New Mexico, where he also completed graduate coursework in GIScience and worked in the Geospatial Sciences for Environmental Management Lab.
Class Topic: Technology and the Arson Investigation
Class Synopsis: What current geospatial and data-analysis technology can do for the fire investigator, and where it falls short. The session opens with a plain-language introduction to spatial and spatiotemporal data: how it is collected, structured, analyzed, and displayed so that it holds up under scrutiny. Then we will work through applied techniques: locating and orienting witness photos and video using terrain ray intersection, viewshed analysis to test what a witness or camera could have seen, fire progression reconstruction, and the analysis and visualization of cell-location records. Digital field documentation tools, including the Echospectra app and its photo narrative module, are covered briefly.
The emphasis throughout is on method and defensibility: what each technique assumes, what it can support, and how to present it. Casework examples throughout.
Sean M. Carney
Deputy District Attorney
LA County District Attorney’s Office
Contact: scarney@da.lacounty.gov
Sean is a career prosecutor with 28 years of trial experience in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. His early assignments in the Major Narcotics and Organized Crime Divisions focused on complex conspiracy prosecutions, before transitioning 17 years ago to specialize in arson and explosives cases. Sean has prosecuted hundreds of arson cases ranging from serial arson to arson-murder. He served as lead prosecutor in high-profile serial arson prosecutions, including People v. Harry Burkhart (the Hollywood Arsonist) and People v. Kurt Billie (the North Hollywood Arsonist). In addition to trial work, he has also litigated and defended decades-old arson-murder convictions against post-conviction challenges brought by innocence projects.
Recognized as an authority on fire and explosives prosecutions, Sean frequently lectures on the successful investigation and prosecution of serial and complex arson cases for organizations including the National District Attorney’s Association, the California Conference of Arson Investigators, and various federal and state law enforcement agencies.
Class Topic: The End Game: Maximizing Your Investigation of Serial and Wildland Fires for a Successful Prosecution.
Class Synopsis: This session examines how investigations into serial and wildland fires can anticipate and meet the rigorous legal requirements for a successful courtroom prosecution. Topics include recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding search warrants for geofence and location-based data, gathering evidence to prove intent, anticipating and investigating mental health defenses, specialized interview techniques, and the preparation of expert witness reports and testimony. Discussion will also cover multi-agency coordination, including cross-jurisdictional collaboration between state and federal prosecutors.
These principles will be illustrated through case material from the investigation and trial of the Hollywood Arsonist, who terrorized the greater Los Angeles area with numerous residential structure fires using unique incendiary devices over a 5-day span. This high-stakes case presented unique challenges—including coordinating multiple law enforcement and fire agencies, managing hundreds of witnesses (including those from foreign jurisdictions), presenting complex expert testimony, and navigating a dual guilt- and sanity-phase trial resulting in conviction and a recent parole denial by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Nathan Riding
Detective
Toole County Sheriff’s Office
Contact: Nathan.riding@tooeleco.gov
Detective Riding joined the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office in 2022, serving as a Patrol Deputy before transitioning to the Investigations Division in 2025. Since 2023, he has also served as a member of the Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team. Throughout his career, Detective Riding has gained experience in general investigations and has assisted with major criminal investigations. He remains committed to serving the community and supporting the mission of the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office.
Class Topic: People vs Vasquez: Digital Evidence Strategies and Analysis
Class Synopsis: Timothy West, a Stockton, Utah, resident, has a documented history of arson offenses dating back to at least 2010. In July 2014, West pleaded guilty to arson and causing a catastrophe after starting a wildfire near Stockton that burned approximately 179 acres, forced the evacuation of eight homes, damaged three residences, and destroyed a water tank serving the community. The damage was reported to exceed $1 million.
After being released on parole in 2018, West was arrested again in June 2026 following multiple fires in Stockton and Lake Point. Investigators used witness statements, surveillance footage, Flock license plate reader data, and physical evidence to help establish a timeline and investigate his involvement. West subsequently pleaded guilty to three felony arson counts and, on August 31, 2026, was sentenced to three consecutive prison terms of zero to five years each, allowing for up to 15 years of incarceration.
Mat Grindley
District Attorney Investigator
San Diego County DA’s Office
Contact: mathew.grindley@sandiegoda.gov
Mat Grindley is a Supervising District Attorney Investigator with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office and a nationally recognized expert in digital forensics, geolocation analysis, and criminal intelligence. With more than 20 years of law enforcement experience, he has led or consulted on over 600 criminal investigations involving homicide, gang prosecution, cold cases, and technology-driven crimes.
A court-recognized expert witness, Mat has testified in more than 70 criminal proceedings and has trained law enforcement agencies across the United States in advanced investigative techniques involving cellular technology, Google location data, historical cell site analysis, and digital evidence mapping.
Combining traditional investigative expertise with cutting-edge digital intelligence, Mat is widely regarded as a trusted authority on complex criminal investigations and the effective presentation of digital evidence in both investigative and courtroom environments.
Class Topic: People vs Vasquez: Digital Evidence Strategies and Analysis
Class Synopsis: Mat will be presenting the People v. Vasquez. He will be discussing the digital evidence strategies and analysis used to identify the suspect in the case. Additionally, he will provide investigative strategies in arson investigations and how to navigate through them in the first few hours of a case.