OXNARD : 18-Year-Old Sentenced in School Fire

An 18-year-old Oxnard student has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in the California Youth Authority for setting a fire that destroyed most of Hueneme High School’s administration wing in October.

However, the youth cannot be held past his 21st birthday because he was a minor when he set fire to his school, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Eric Bond. The Oct. 14 fire, which was set in Assistant Principal Daisy Tatum’s office, caused an estimated $400,000 to $800,000 of damage, Bond said.

Bond said the Ventura County district attorney’s office will seek some form of probation for the youth after he turns 21. He declined to name the youth because of his age at the time of the fire.

Investigators never determined the motive for the fire, and said there is no evidence that it was aimed at Tatum. “It was an angry attack on a fundamental institution of this society, on the schools,” Bond said.

A 14-year-old who acted as lookout during the arson and a 16-year-old who kicked in a school window to let the arsonist inside were found guilty of burglary, but were never charged with arson, Bond said. They have since been expelled from Hueneme High School.

Meanwhile, Hueneme High School officials and counselors are working in four trailers, which were set up on school grounds as temporary offices after the fire, Tatum said.