Dec 13, 2007 8:44 pm US/Pacific
5 Arrested In Connection With Malibu Fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Police issued arrest warrants to five men suspected of starting a fire that caused over $100 million in damages in Malibu, Calif. (File)
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities say five men have been charged with starting last month's devastating Malibu wildfire which destroyed more than 50 homes.
District Attorney Steve Cooley says the five are named in two felony counts. The defendants are identified as 22-year-old Brian Allen Anderson, 23-year-old William Thomas Coppock, 27-year-old Brian David Franks, 18-year-old Eric Matthew Ullman and 19-year-old Dean Allen Lavorante.
The arrests are the culmination of a nearly three-week investigation that took detectives to as far as the Oregon border. Arson investigators determined the fire was sparked by an illegal campfire in a popular party spot in Corral Canyon.
The five are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday. They face several years in prison if convicted.
Arrest warrants had been issued for five men accused of causing the fire that destroyed more than 50 homes and caused over $100 million in losses, Sheriff Lee Baca said Thursday.
Baca said investigators used surveillance video, receipts and food wrappers to track down the men who were believed to have been at the cave where the fire started.
"As adults we have always taught our children to be aware of the perils of fire," Baca said during a news conference. "In this case adults and fire and carelessness...are things that led to this crime."
Baca said each charged carried two to four years of prison time if convicted.
Earlier, Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said arson investigators found several pieces of evidence that indicated revelers had triggered the blaze by setting a campfire at a popular party spot by a cave in Corral Canyon, which abuts Malibu Creek State Park.
The evidence included food wrappers and bundles of chopped wood.
A review of security tape from a nearby store's camera and other detective work that took investigators as far away as Shasta County, on the Oregon border, led to the suspects being identified, Whitmore said.
In all, the wildfire destroyed 53 homes, 33 outbuildings, one mobile home and 37 vehicles. Another 34 homes and 11 outbuildings were damaged. No one was seriously injured.
The fire broke out Nov. 24 and took several days to contain.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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