Police Chief’s Son Gets 3 Years, Fined $10,000 for 2 Fires
The 20-year-old son of an Orange County police chief was sentenced Monday to three years in prison and fined $10,000 for setting two fires last September that destroyed 7,100 acres of the Cleveland National Forest and caused $2.7 million in damage.
Robert Edward Lowenberg, son of Cypress Police Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg, could be eligible for parole in one year under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge James Ideman. He faced a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Noting the extensive damage from the fire, Ideman said he hoped that the sentence--one year less than prosecutors had recommended, but two years more than defense attorney Anna Ho had sought--would deter others.
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