California Criminal Defense Blog

Fourth of July is a month away. Californians planning on celebrating the holiday with firecrackers may want to glance over the state Supreme Court’s opinion in In re V.V., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law, issued Monday.

The case began in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest, when two 17-year-olds threw a “cherry bomb” into brush and ignited a 5-acre fire.

Petitions were sustained against both minors for violating Penal Code 451 pc arson and Penal Code 452 pc reckless burning. However, in separate appeals, Division One of the Court of Appeals upheld the Penal Code 451 pc arson violation whereas Division Eight decided that only a Penal Code 452 pc reckless burning violation could be sustained under the facts.

The California Supreme Court agreed with Division One. Two justices dissented.

Even though the minors may not have actually intend to do harm, the high court held, arson is a general intent crime and the element of “willfully and maliciously” setting fire was satisfied because the minors were “aware of facts that would lead a reasonable person to realize that the direct, natural, and highly probable consequence” of throwing a lit ‘cherry bomb’ under the circumstances would cause a fire.

The minors were declared wards of the state and placed on home probation, one of many dispositions available in the California juvenile delinquency system.

25-year-old Joshua Thomas has been arrested for violating Penal Code 451 PC California’s arson law in connection with a string of fires that he reportedly intentionally set to cars, homes, sheds and trash bins in the Long Beach area. Long Beach Police have allegedly connected Thomas with 18 fires. In two of the instances, the police are reporting that Thomas set fire to homes where people were inside sleeping. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

If convicted, Thomas faces a substantial amount of time in prison. Each instance of willful or malicious arson subjects him to up to nine years in prison and a potential “strike” on his record under California’s three strikes law.

An additional penalty for violating Penal Code 451 PC California’s arson law is that convicted defendants must register as an arson offender (much like a sex-offender). This means that, if convicted, Thomas would have to keep law enforcement up-to-date on his whereabouts…that is, assuming he is released from prison. If he fails to do register or maintain his registry, he subjects himself to additional charges as well.

Thomas’s defense attorney will most likely try to reduce at least some of the charges to “reckless burning” under Penal Code 452 PC. Reckless burning is only a misdemeanor charge, subjecting Thomas to a maximum one-year of county jail for each count.

Recent reports indicate that thousands of convicted arsonists may have been falsely accused and wrongfully convicted. This is due to the fact that arson investigators have relied on a basic set of assumptions about how fires burn…assumptions which really amount to little more than “old wives tales”.

California’s arson laws (Penal Codes 451 and 452 PC) prohibit willfully, maliciously, or even recklessly setting fire to another’s property or land. These laws even prohibit willfully setting fire to your own property if (1) you did so with a fraudulent intent, or (2) other property or persons were injured as a result.

California’s arson laws themselves under these Penal Code sections are fine, that’s not the problem. It’s how these arson cases…and those around the country…are investigated that is the issue.

Continue reading "Arson Investigation - Hardly a Science" »

The L.A. Times is reporting:

Prosecutors Must Decide Whether to Charge 13-year-old Who Allegedly Started Brush Fire

September 17, 2009 | 7:28 am

Los Angeles prosecutors could decide today whether to file charges against a 13-year-old boy accused of starting the Morris fire above Azusa, which burned 2,100 acres last month.

The Station fire, the largest in L.A. County history, has been declared an arson. But there are no suspects.

The story highlights a conflict for the Los Angeles County DA's Office. On the one hand, public pressure to throw the book at suspected arsonists is at an all time high...on the heels a spate of deadly and multi-billion dollar fires.

On the other hand, children generally don't face prosecution for serious crimes, unless it can be shown that they knew right from wrong. In this case, however, it's likely a 13-year-old will be deemed to have appreciated the wrongfulness of his actions...alleged actions.

In a recent display of their resolve and commitment, authorities have bumped up the reward for assistance and promised to track down the people responsible for causing the Santiago Fire in Orange County. According to an article in The Los Angeles Times , the reward for any leads that would bring about a conviction has now grown to $285,000.

FBI Special Agent Herb Brown is quoted in the article as stating "The FBI will bring to bear all of its national resources . . . to make sure that we track, apprehend and put this person or persons behind bars where they belong." The Santiago Fire that is believed to be the result of arson, was ignited at two points of origin at about 6 p.m. Sunday on the west side of Santiago Canyon Road, the newspaper reported.

The fire alarmed residents and officials alike with its ferocity and speed - burning down three miles in the first fifteen minutes of being reported. It finally had spread over 27,000-acres, injuring four firefighters, gutting 22 homes and buildings and causing damage to 20 more. According to the article the radio station KFI-AM (640) has contributed $100,000 to the reward amount, while a number of law enforcement agencies have given the rest of the money. The Orange County Fire Authority confirmed the total amount.

It is very obvious arson is an extremely serious offense and one that exhausts resources and causes hardship all around. Additionally, officials often face the burden of dealing with copycat Orange County arson acts. Orange County and much of California threatened almost year-round with blazes will have very little sympathy for arsonists and we agree these criminals should be held accountable.

However, as experienced Southern California Criminal Defense Attorneys we have seen numerous occasions where situations such as the above pose problems. Officials under intense pressure and media scrutiny to solve the case, speed up their investigations often, at the expense of the truth. We hope authorities take their time to look into the facts of the case and don’t act in haste.

Hundreds of people lost their homes in last week’s wildfires. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims.