Clearlake man sentenced to prison for setting Clayton fire, three other blazes
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Clearlake resident originally charged with setting more than a dozen others around Lake County in 2015 and 2016 has been sentenced to prison for four of them – including the August 2016 Clayton fire that devastated Lower Lake.
Damin Anthony Pashilk, 43, was in Lake County Superior Court for sentencing on Monday afternoon.
Visiting Judge Thomas Maddock, a retired member of the Contra Costa County bench, presided over the hearing and handed down a sentence of more than 15 years in state prison.
The hourlong hearing included several impact statements from Clayton fire victims, sharing their stories of fleeing from their homes, losing a lifetime of memories and beloved pets, and how that some of them have yet to find a comfortable place to rebuild their lives.
Based on the terms of the plea agreement, Pashilk pleaded no contest to four fires: the Western fire on July 23, 2016, near Middletown; the North Branch fire on July 29, 2016, near Clearlake; the Canyon fire on Aug. 9, 2016, near Lower Lake; and the Clayton fire on Aug. 13, 2016.
Maddock accepted those terms, sentencing Pashilk to an aggregate state prison sentence of 15 years, four months, with 1,135 days credited for time served since Pashilk’s August 2016 arrest and another 170 days for good behavior, for a total of 1,305 days.
Pashilk’s time in state prison could be further reduced by another 15 percent for work time, plus a new legislative reduction that totals 5 percent, which Maddock noted was not his sentence.
At the request of defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman, Judge Maddock agreed to waive a $10,000 restitution fine, but Pashilk is still subject to the outcome of a restitution hearing that will take place early next year.
Judge Maddock said he had spent a week considering the case and the proposed plea agreement.
While Maddock said he had told both Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchliff and defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman ahead of the sentencing that he had concerns about the plea deal, he said that after weighing all the factors – including there being no guarantee of a conviction at trial and putting victims through a stressful trial process – he ultimately decided to accept the plea agreement.
Before the hearing, Pashilk – wearing a red and white jail jumpsuit – had sat in the jury box by himself, reading through case documents. He then joined Hauptman at the defense table for the sentencing.
In addition to law enforcement officials and bailiffs, there was a small number of Clayton fire victims and District Attorney’s Office Victim-Witness advocates in the audience. District Attorney Susan Krones also was on hand for the hearing.
Pashilk has been in custody since August 2016, arrested just a few days after the Clayton fire ripped through Lower Lake.
It emerged that Pashilk had been under surveillance by Cal Fire investigators for more than a year, and he ultimately was charged with 23 counts for setting the Clayton fire and 15 other fires between July of 2015 and August of 2016, plus an attempted start of a 17th fire that self-extinguished.
In March, at the end of a lengthy preliminary hearing that had begun in February, Judge Andrew Blum ordered Pashilk to stand trial on 22 charges for the series of fires, with charges for one of the fires dropped, as Lake County News has reported.
In July, the Lake County District Attorney’s Office reached the plea agreement with Pashilk and since then Victim-Witness and Probation Department officials had encouraged the victims of the fires to submit their statements.
Victims share their stories
Victim-Witness advocates read three statements to the court on behalf of three women who were not in attendance – Carrie Johnson, Rhonda Straub and Suzanne Abel.
After surviving the 2014 and 2015 wildfires, Johnson recounted losing her home and business on Main Street in Lower Lake to the Clayton Fire. She remembered struggling to evacuate her husband, who has COPD and other health issues, her terminally ill daughter and her elderly German Shepherd.
“We never dreamed that an intentionally set fire would destroy our home and our town,” she said, explaining that her husband lost 20 collectors cars and a lifetime of tools, she lost family pictures including those documenting the childhood of their six children.
Her daughter ended her life in an extended stay hotel, wondering why she couldn’t go home. And the family’s dog had to be put down due to its failing health.
Straub’s statement told of her worsening health issues because of the fire, including continuing nosebleeds and sinus infections, and post traumatic stress disorder.
Abel said the propane tanks in her Copsey Creek neighborhood exploded like bombs, causing her roommate to lose his hearing. It took them seven months to secure housing, and her roommate has since had two surgeries to try to save his life. Both suffer from crippling PTSD.
She said they provided a forever home for 26 rescue animals, which she said she misses every day. Abel also alleged that there was no fire in her neighborhood until she watched a Cal Fire helicopter land in a nearby field and she saw fire appear in the shape of its landing gear.
Another woman rose from the audience to say she came to “ream” Pashilk but added that she believed he didn’t care. She said she hoped he burns in hell before she walked back to the audience, where she sat sobbing.
Lower Lake resident Wes Baker thanked Maddock for the opportunity to share his story, adding in a voice trembling with emotion, “It’s not easy.”
Baker said he lost his home, property, and cherished pets and livestock, recounting how he couldn’t get one of his horses to load into a trailer to escape.
He called the setting of the Clayton fire “an unthinkable act,” and questioned why anyone would want to do it.
Addressing Pashilk directly, Baker said, “This is what you did, your worst thing” – setting a fire in a populated area of a rural county.
Baker urged Pashilk to get mental help, noting that he believed he suffers from pyromania, an impulse control disorder that leads individuals to set fires. He said he wanted Pashilk to get help so he has “a real hope of some happiness in what time will be left of your life upon release.”
He continued, “Get help, real help at this time, use all your time wisely. Ask others for help and keep asking always. Don't keep secrets and don't believe your own lies anymore.”
Baker said he can and will forgive Pashilk, a commitment not easy for him. “I too am hurt, but I’m up to it,” adding that his forgiveness of Pashilk’s crime is foundational upon him cooperating with authorities and caregivers.
He ended by telling Pashilk, “I pray the one who recovers is you.”
Prosecutor addresses concerns about plea agreement
Hinchcliff himself offered a statement to the court that responded to concerns he’d seen raised by community members – including posts on social media and two phone calls from local residents who didn’t feel the stipulated agreement was tough enough.
If considering only financial losses and emotional trauma, as well as people’s desire for justice, “then the sentence is not enough. There is no question about that,” said Hinchcliff.
“I have great sympathy and understanding for anyone who feels that way,” he said.
If those were the only factors considered when handling a case, then Hinchcliff said neither life in prison nor the death penalty would be sufficient.
However, he said prosecutors have to take many other things into consideration. In this case, had there been a jury trial, there was no guarantee of a guilty verdict on the main charges or lesser convictions. In the case of a hung jury, Pashilk would have received no sentence.
Hinchcliff said the District Attorney’s Office isn’t immune to concerns about fire survivors, as many of its members have been evacuated during the wildland fires, and some have lost their homes. Hinchcliff said his daughter lost her home in the Tubbs fire.
Ultimately, he said they had to make decisions on how to best handle the case based on evidence and training. “Emotions alone won't get a conviction or make the case stronger.”
After the end of Pashilk’s preliminary hearing, Hinchcliff said he, Krones, a District Attorney’s Office investigator and two Cal Fire investigators began to consider the case and discussed the evidence at length.
They looked at Pashilk’s potential defenses, took into consideration the risks of not getting a conviction or a lesser conviction and, based on those factors, felt the plea agreement was the correct disposition, he explained.
Hinchcliff said the state government also is currently in the process of reducing sentences of murder and arson.
He referred to a child molestation case several years ago in which a plea agreement was reached and rejected by a judge, and a hung jury resulted in the man accused going free.
Hinchcliff asked for Pashilk to be sentenced in accordance with the plea agreement, requesting a future date for a restitution hearing.
Hauptman also asked for the court to follow the sentencing agreement. He added that Pashilk is far from indifferent to the suffering of the people in the county. “All he can do at this point is extend that sympathy.”
Judge explains decision
Maddock would do as both the prosecution and defense asked, accepting the plea agreement and sentencing Pashilk accordingly.
“There's no way any sentence that I impose can restore our victims to where they were before this terrible thing occurred, and that troubles me,” Maddock said.
He said he appreciated each of the victim impact statements. “You have my sympathies and my sorrow for what you had to endure and what you have to continue to endure.”
Noting the county’s high risk for fire, Maddock said setting a fire “is essentially an act of terrorism.”
Based on his own experience with such cases, Maddock noted there are no guarantees with a jury trial, and that there are additional sentencing constraints in the law.
He acknowledged that he had been initially troubled by the agreement, but after considering the case and the victims’ impact statements, “I am prepared to follow the agreement as it was made because I think in the big picture it's the best solution to this case.”
Hauptman objected to a $10,000 restitution fine because Pashilk has no money, assets or income, and so no ability to pay.
Maddock ultimately agreed to waive that fine but set a Feb. 25 hearing to present restitution requests from victims, with a restitution hearing to be set at that time.
Hauptman also asked for the Chrysler Sebring that Pashilk had been driving at the time of the Clayton fire – and which had been seized – be released as it belongs to another individual.
Pashilk, who is due to be transported to state prison, waived his right to be present at the February hearing.
Maddock also informed him that he has 60 days to file an appeal of the sentence.
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