VENTURA : Arson Trial Ordered for Suspect in 8 Fires

An Oxnard man charged with seven counts of arson was bound over for trial Wednesday after he served as his own attorney during a preliminary hearing in Ventura County Municipal Court.

A Nov. 6 Superior Court arraignment hearing was set for Ronald Kenneth Sneed, 48, who is accused of setting eight fires in downtown Ventura on Oct. 7, causing damage estimated at $240,000.

The biggest of the eight fires Sneed allegedly set roared through the former Ventura headquarters of the American Red Cross at 880 E. Santa Clara St. and the office of Commander Business Forms at 1056 Meta St., causing substantial damage to each building.

Ventura Police Detective Ray Romero testified at the 2 1/2-hour preliminary hearing that he arrested Sneed as the suspect drove away from a flaming lot in downtown Ventura.

“His hands were blackened with an ash and soot material,” Romero testified. “He smelled of smoke, and the knee area of his pants were dirty, as if he was kneeling in the dirt.”

Other evidence found on Sneed included two books of matches--one of which was half-empty and with a well-used strike plate--two used matches and a Red Cross football schedule similar to those found near the burned building, Romero said.

Sneed, wearing a blue Ventura County Jail uniform and leg shackles, caused a stir with his court tactics.

Although the former auto and television repairman has no formal legal training, he immediately asked Municipal Judge Barry B. Klopfer to ban all witnesses or potential witnesses from the courtroom--a common legal ploy--and the judge concurred.

Later, Sneed painstakingly cross-examined Romero for almost an hour, deliberating over details from the officer’s testimony and the arrest report.

Sneed told Romero to draw a map of the area where he was arrested and then asked the detective to describe the flames at the last fire he was accused of setting at 157 Pacific Ave.

Sneed’s questioning drew repeated objections from Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Simon--on the grounds that it was irrelevant, vague or argumentative--the majority of which were sustained by Klopfer.

A second witness, Ventura Fire Capt. Glenn True, testified about evidence found at the fire scenes, how the blazes were started and what burned.

The preliminary hearing ended with Sneed’s bail being raised to $25,000 at Simon’s request.