THOUSAND OAKS : Man Gets 120 Days for Trash Can Arson

A Thousand Oaks man who admitted setting fires at a Thousand Oaks temple has been sentenced to 120 days in jail for setting fire to a trash can, authorities said.

Robert Michael Greene, 31, was sentenced Tuesday in Ventura Municipal Court by Judge Bruce A. Clark. The judge also placed him on three years probation and required him to undergo counseling, to submit to searches of himself or his car at any time and to avoid using matches or other flammable materials.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon said Greene has suffered from mental health problems including autism as a child. He said Greene set the fires to relieve tension.

“This was not a hate crime,” Simon said of the temple fires.

In April, Greene pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of unlawfully causing a fire in a trash can on April 16 in Thousand Oaks. The fire occurred a few days after Temple Adat Elohim was damaged by arson for the third time that month.

Simon said Greene admitted that he set the fires at the temple but that he was not charged in those crimes. He said officers questioning him about the temple fires told him that his answers would not be used against him.

Sandy Greenstein, a spokesman for the temple, would not comment about the case except to say that it was frustrating for members.

“There are things I’d like to say,” he said, adding that he was angry that $50,000 worth of damage had been done to the temple.

However, he praised the police officers and firefighters who assisted the temple.

The repairs, which were covered by insurance, are almost complete, he said.

Greene already has served half of his jail sentence awaiting the outcome of his case, Simon said. A county social worker testified at the sentencing that Greene doesn’t qualify for county-funded hospitalization or in-patient treatment because he is not considered a danger to himself or others.