Man accused of setting Clayton fire, other fires around Lake County reaches plea agreement
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Clearlake man arrested three years ago for setting the Clayton fire and numerous other fires around Lake County during a yearlong period has reached a plea agreement and will be sentenced this fall.
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that it has reached the agreement with Damin Anthony Pashilk, 43, after ongoing discussions and “the assessment of the risks associated with proceeding to trial.”
The agreement calls for him to be sentenced to just over 15 years in state prison. He also will have to face a restitution process for the victims of the fires he set.
Pashilk was arrested on Aug. 15, 2016, two days after the Clayton fire began, and has remained in custody since then. For much of that time, he has been held in an out-of-county facility.
Following a lengthy investigation, authorities concluded the Clayton fire was the last of a series of fires he had set in the Clearlake, Lower Lake and Middletown areas from the summer of 2015 to 2016.
He initially was charged with intentionally setting 15 fires and one attempted fire between July 2, 2015, and Aug. 13, 2016. Authorities said most of the fires were small wildland fires that were quickly extinguished by Cal Fire and burned only vegetation.
The two most serious fires were the Seigler Canyon fire and the Clayton fire. The Seigler Canyon fire on Aug. 9, 2016, burned 15 acres of vegetation and a mobile home, authorities said.
The Clayton fire started on Aug. 13, 2016, on Clayton Creek Road in dry grass, burning nearly 4,000 acres and destroying 300 structures, including many in historic downtown Lower Lake.
Pashilk’s preliminary hearing took place from Feb. 14 to March 12. He was charged with 23 counts associated with the fires he was believed to have set. Judge Andrew ordered Pashilk to stand trial for all but one of the fires, for which the charge was dropped, as Lake County News has reported.
After the preliminary hearing concluded, District Attorney Susan Krones, Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff – who has handled the prosecution so far, including the preliminary hearing – along with the District Attorney’s Office investigator assigned to the case, and the primary Cal Fire investigators who conducted the serial arsonist investigation and origin and cause investigations for each fire, met to discuss the case and potential dispositions.
During the meetings, the District Attorney’s Office said discussions included assessment of the testimony and evidence at the preliminary hearing, the strengths and weaknesses of the investigation and evidence, potential defenses, risks of not getting convictions on some or all charges if the case proceeded to trial, potential sentencing outcomes if the case went to trial, potential disposition options, and the impact on success at trial in the probable event that a change of venue was granted and the trial had to be held outside of Lake County.
Also discussed was the potential costs to Lake County if trial was held in another county and resources required if the case proceeded to trial, officials said.
A change of venue was a real concern, as defense attorney Mitchell Hauptman had indicated it was a possibility at the time of the preliminary hearing due to his concerns that Pashilk couldn’t get a fair trial in Lake County.
Hauptman couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Based on the discussions and those risk assessments, the District Attorney’s Office entered into a plea agreement with Pashilk to plead to certain fires and to be sentenced to a stipulated sentence of 15 years, four months.
The District Attorney’s Office said Pashilk will legally be entitled to 15 percent credits before he gets to prison and 20 percent credits after being remanded to prison.
The agreement led to Pashilk pleading no contest on July 9 to starting the following four fires:
– The Western fire on July 23, 2016, on Western Mine Road south of Middletown; it burned less than an acre of dry grass.
– The North Branch fire on July 29, 2016, on Ogulin Canyon Road north of the city of Clearlake; it burned 25 acres of vegetation.
– The Canyon fire on Aug. 9, 2016, on Seigler Canyon Road west of Lower Lake; it burned 15 acres and one mobile home.
– The Clayton fire that started on Clayton Creek road on Aug. 13, 2016, and burned into Lower Lake.
Pashilk’s sentencing will take place on Sept. 23, the District Attorney’s Office said.
A restitution hearing will be subsequently set for a later date to obtain restitution orders for fire victims making a claim for restitution.
Any fire victim’s seeking a restitution order can contact the District Attorney’s Office Victim-Witness Division at 707-262-4282 to make a claim.
Victims who have already made a claim with the District Attorney’s Office do not need to recontact Victim-Witness, officials said.
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