The Region - News from March 28, 1985

The owners of a Mojave-area house in which three children died during a fire were accused in a bench warrant with failure to appear on charges of providing dangerous housing. The victims of Tuesday’s fire, which destroyed the rented home, were aged 16 months to 3 years. Ernest and Maria Valdez of Los Angeles, the owners, were ordered arrested when they failed to appear in East Kern Municipal Court. They had been free on their own recognizance since their arraignment Jan. 16. Investigators found several short circuits in wires in the house, Kern County Fire Capt. Bill Alexander said.