Man Police Suspect in Arsons Sentenced on Drug, Weapon Counts

Robert Bruce Williams, the cancer-stricken Northridge man who police have called a suspect in two arson fires at the construction site of a Northridge apartment project, was sentenced to seven months in County Jail Monday on drugs and weapons charges.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Dana Senit Henry also ordered Williams, 33, to serve three years’ probation, perform 150 hours of volunteer work and pay a $100 fine.

Williams, a free-lance photographer who recently completed chemotherapy for malignant tumors in his stomach, was arrested Jan. 18 after police raided his home to look for evidence that might link him to two fires at an apartment construction site. The January fires caused more than $2.6 million in damage.

Never Charged With Arson

Arson charges have never been filed against Williams. But, based on officers’ discovery of drugs and an extensive firearms collection while serving a search warrant, he was charged with single counts of possessing cocaine, cultivating marijuana, possessing exploding bullets and possessing a silencer.

The arson investigation is still pending, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Barshop.

Williams, who has been held in County Jail since his arrest, pleaded guilty to the drugs and weapons charges on March 25. Defense attorney Nathan H. Snyder said that, with time served, Williams will be eligible for parole in about six weeks.

“I’m satisfied,” Snyder said in an interview after the sentencing. “Frankly, I think they have rousted this poor guy enough.”

But Barshop, who asked the judge to sentence Williams to serve two years in state prison, criticized the sentence. He said Williams could have been sentenced to a maximum of five years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

‘Can’t Fault the Judge’

“I can’t fault the judge,” Barshop said. “She certainly has the right to sentence as she sees fit . . . But my feeling was that he deserved more time in custody. The totality of the circumstances called for more time. Explosive bullets and silencers are offensive weapons as opposed to defensive weapons and you really have to wonder what he was doing with them.”

Barshop said officers who led the raid also found marijuana seeds, scales similar to those used to weigh narcotics, and photographs of Williams standing among huge marijuana plants, which Barshop said indicates Williams had a more extensive involvement with drugs.

During sentencing, however, Henry said she opted for a lighter, County Jail term because only small amounts of drugs were involved and Williams did not have a record.