Man Gets 3 Years in Fiery Death of Child in Van

A man who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the fiery death of a 2-year-old El Cajon girl was sentenced Wednesday to three years in state prison.

The sentencing of Michael Ray Roberts wraps up an unusual Superior Court case in which both sides admit that circumstances are both in support and against the defendant.

Roberts, a 35-year-old Hawthorne man with no felony convictions, received serious burns as he attempted to save Brittany Lee Cook from a burning van in Alpine on Sept. 1.

However, Roberts knew that he was driving a vehicle that had been stolen, and it contained hardware that Roberts admitted he planned to use in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Superior Court Judge Michael D. Wellington said he had to consider these disparate factors when sentencing Roberts for the guilty pleas he made on March 27.

“Like life in general, this isn’t a black-and-white case,” Wellington said.

Roberts, the girl and her mother, Barbara Cook of El Cajon, were parked alongside Interstate 8 when a fire broke out in the van.

Roberts reportedly gave investigators conflicting accounts of how the fire started, and the judge noted that he had used methamphetamine and consumed whiskey before the incident.

Although noting Roberts’ effort to save the child, Wellington also condemned the defendant for his “pattern of reckless, life-endangering activity” on the day of the child’s death.

Roberts was also ordered to pay $5,000 to the state Victim’s Crime Fund.