“His goal was to create fires big enough that significant firefighting resources would be required to extinguish the fires,” the document says. “Cunha had no consideration for Cal Fire fighters’ safety when he set the fires, placing them in grave danger during the fire suppression efforts,”said Jill Snyder, the special agent in charge of the investigation.Ĭunha’s apparent obsession with lighting fires was outlined in the sentencing memorandum, which described how he developed and built a time-delay device that he used specifically in dry grass during high winds. Given that his earlier conviction had not ended the arson activity, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked with the U.S. attorney said the arsons caused $7 million in damage. The Los Angeles Fire Department’s arson team is investigating a fire that occurred Saturday night on the second floor of City Hall, authorities said. Cunha finished his probation for those arsons in 2012.Ĭunha, who had worked from 2001 to 2003 as a seasonal firefighter for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, was also ordered to pay $246,862 in restitution for the cost of fighting the Mine Fire, which burned onto national forest land on July 6, 2007. In Encinitas, a 42-year-old woman named Stacey Eaton was arrested on suspicion of arson, elder abuse, and violation of a restraining order after a fire broke out at her parents home. He had previously served a 365-day jail sentence, which allowed him to work during the day, after he confessed to using a time-delay incendiary device to light at least 30 wildland fires in El Dorado and Amador counties during the summers of 20. The sentence spared Cunha a more lengthy sentence had he been convicted of several other fires he admitted setting or was suspected of lighting, including two blazes during the summer of 2013.
#California fire arson serial
Five years “is a just result that takes a serial arsonist off the streets.” 11, 2021 12:22 PM PT A former college instructor linked to a rash of arson fires has been arrested and charged with igniting a blaze on federal forest land, not far from the site of the. “This defendant set a multitude of fires with a callous disregard for the danger to life and property that he was inflicting,” said U.S. He was sentenced by District Judge John Mendez after a plea deal reached in return for his cooperation. attorney said.īenjamin Cunha, 33, of Placerville (El Dorado County), pleaded guilty in October in U.S District Court in Sacramento to one count of arson for lighting the 80-acre Mine Fire in 2007 while he was a volunteer firefighter in Diamond Springs, near his home. A firefighter who admitted setting dozens of fires in an attempt to earn overtime pay and impress his peers was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for arson, the U.S. Police said they determined the cause of the wildfire that broke out near Truckee on Thursday. Forest Service, California’s firefighting agency and the California Department of Justice, with help from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s crime lab.SACRAMENTO, Calif. Arson suspect taken into custody for igniting fire in Truckee, police say. The district attorney’s office said the case was developed with the U.S. So I urge everyone to wait and hear what really happened before they form any opinions,” Reichel added. that proves any of the prosecution’s evidence yet. Prosecutors charged a onetime firefighter Tuesday with aggravated arson and other felonies that carry a potential life sentence for allegedly igniting the devastating Oak. “There has been no evidence submitted into a court subject to my cross-examination. The pair have a scheduled court appearance on Friday, Reichel said. They’re very law-abiding people,” he said. “Neither one has ever been in trouble with the law in their life. The son made several 911 calls because the calls kept dropping in the rugged area, and both men also warned campers about the fire, Reichel said. The son called 911 to report seeing flames, Reichel said. He said Travis Smith is an electrician and was with his father near where the fire started. Reichel said he did not know details of the accusation, such as how authorities allege the fire was set. Reichel, the men’s lawyer, said: “They are absolutely 100% innocent.” For information on Fire/Incident Records. ‘We've Done Everything We Can': South Lake Tahoe Begins Road to Recovery Following Caldor FireĮl Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson provided few details about the arrest of the Smiths, citing the investigation. Each investigator is also a member of the Riverside Arson Task Force and California Conference of Arson Investigators.
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