Parents to Watch Him : Canyon Arson Suspect to Be Released on Bail

The 19-year-old Cypress man charged with setting the Silverado Canyon brush fires will be released on bail to his parents’ custody, a Los Angeles federal magistrate ordered Wednesday.

Robert E. Lowenberg has been sharing a cell in Terminal Island federal prison with a bank robber since his arrest Sept. 18 on arson charges of setting two fires that blackened 5,000 acres in Cleveland National Forest.

“The magistrate made it very clear that this could be used as a mechanism for helping or hurting himself,” said Tom Barham, Lowenberg’s attorney.

U.S. Magistrate Volney V. Brown Jr. reduced Lowenberg’s bail from $25,000 to a $10,000 appearance bond. He also required Lowenberg’s parents to sign a $5,000 affidavit of surety, a guarantee of their son’s good behavior.

‘Very Remorseful’

Lowenberg is “very remorseful,” and his family was pleased with the magistrate’s decision, Barham said. “His dad was obviously thankful the judge was sensitive to the plight that this guy finds himself in,” Barham said.

Under the conditions of his release, Lowenberg must check in three times a week with a pretrial services officer, and his travel is restricted to Orange and Los Angeles counties. Lowenberg’s father, Cypress Police Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg, must also report if his son fails to return home each evening, Barham said.

Wednesday’s order also said Lowenberg must refrain from drug and alcohol use. At an earlier hearing Lowenberg had been ordered to enter a residential drug and alcohol treatment program. However, because the court realized he is not a chronic abuser, Lowenberg will not be required to enroll in a treatment program for the time being, Barham said.

Can’t Contact Witnesses

Lowenberg is also barred from contacting prospective witnesses in the case and had previously been barred from contacting his friend, Richard Anthony Tafoya, 18, who, federal officials said, turned in Lowenberg.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen Wolfe had asked for the earlier restriction, saying at the time that Tafoya had allegedly received death threats from a member of Lowenberg’s family.

Barham, however, said Lowenberg still considers Tafoya “a very good friend.”

Brown postponed Lowenberg’s preliminary hearing from Monday to Oct. 15 to allow both attorneys time to decide how to proceed with the arson charges, Wolfe said. The Sept. 9 fires took 1,100 firefighters a week to bring under control.