EL CAJON : Two Plead Guilty in School Fires
Two El Cajon men pleaded guilty Friday to setting fires at two elementary schools near their home in May.
Robby Todd Johnson, 25, and David Arthur Northam, 20, entered guilty pleas to two counts of arson in front of Municipal Court Judge Terry J. Knoepp.
The stepbrothers admitted starting a fire at Chase Avenue Elementary School on May 24. The $150,000 blaze was started in a second-grade classroom, and three other classrooms were destroyed.
Johnson and Northam also started a fire at Cuyamaca Elementary School in El Cajon three days later. Damage to a teacher’s lounge and supply room was estimated at $45,000.
In a plea-bargain agreement, prosecutors dropped seven counts of burglary against the pair. Johnson will be sentenced to eight years in prison. Northam will serve seven years. Johnson will have to register as an arsonist in a program similar to one that keeps tabs on sex offenders.
Both will be held in lieu of $200,000 bail until their sentencing Aug. 28.
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