LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sen. Mike McGuire’s bipartisan legislation to extend the sunset date and adjust the amount of property damage and fire suppression costs associated with an aggravated arson charge passed a key committee in the State Legislature on Tuesday.
McGuire introduced SB 896 in January.
McGuire’s office said there are three possible ways to be convicted of aggravated arson: Any prior arson convictions within the last 10 years; damage or destruction of five or more inhabited structures; or damage and other losses and fire suppression costs in excess of $7 million.
The Legislative Counsel’s Digest explains that, beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, existing law deletes the aggravating factor of property damage and other losses in excess of $7 million from the definition of aggravated arson.
McGuire’s bill would extend until Jan. 1, 2024, the aggravating factor of property damage and would increase the threshold of property damage and other losses to $7.3 million.
On Tuesday, the bill passed the Senate Public Safety committee with a 7-0 vote.
The bipartisan legislation is co-authored by State Senators Bill Dodd, Ted Gaines and Tom Berryhill, and members of the Assembly, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Marc Levine and Jim Wood.
“An aggravated arson charge is reserved for the worst of the worst – arsonists who exhibit specific intent to inflict damage to their communities or who are a continuing threat to society. We need to ensure this important law remains in place in order to protect our communities and first responders in this new normal we’re all facing,” McGuire said.
The legislation could have special importance for Lake County, which has suffered from several major wildland fires since the summer of 2015.
One of the worst and most destructive, the August 2016 Clayton fire, burned 3,929 acres and 300 structures – 189 of them homes – in the Lower Lake area.
Suppression costs on the Clayton fire were estimated at more than $18.5 million, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire arrested Clearlake resident Damin Anthony Pashilk, 42, and charged him with setting the Clayton fire, as well as 16 others blazes or attempted starts around Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Lower Lake and Middletown between July 2015 and August 2016.
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office has charged Pashilk with nearly two dozen felonies, including 19 felony counts of arson with special allegations of causing multiple structures to burn and committing a crime in a disaster area, and misdemeanor charges related to methamphetamine possession. Among the charges filed against Pashilk is aggravated arson.
Lt. Norm Taylor of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Tiffany Matthews with the California District Attorneys Association provided supporting testimony at Tuesday’s hearing on the bill.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, who is prosecuting Pashilk’s case, said he was called by the California District Attorneys Association about three weeks ago and asked if he would write a letter in support of the legislation, which he did.
In his letter, Hinchcliff said the law would affect cases like Pashilk’s.
Pashilk’s case has had numerous delays, in part due to what Hinchcliff has explained is its extremely complex nature.
Another delay was that Pashilk’s appointed defense attorney, J. David Markham, was sworn in last month as Lake County’s newest Superior Court judge. Hinchcliff said the case has now been assigned to defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman of Lakeport.
Hinchcliff said Pashilk’s case has been set for preliminary hearing on June 6.
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Aggravated arson legislation advances; bill will impact Clayton fire case
- Elizabeth Larson
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