Charges Are Dropped in Comic-Book Store Fire : Crime: After hearing 17 witnesses, the grand jury refuses to indict Christopher Nagano for arson. He was the only suspect arrested in the Sept. 18 blaze in Thousand Oaks.

Arson charges were dismissed Monday against a Newbury Park man accused of torching a Thousand Oaks comic-book store, after the Ventura County grand jury refused to indict him.

Christopher Nagano, 20, smiled and said he felt “speechless” after the Ventura County district attorney’s office disclosed its decision to dismiss charges at a court hearing. Nagano had been the only suspect arrested since the Sept. 18 fire at the Heroes and Legends store on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Despite the grand jury’s refusal to indict Nagano, Sheriff’s Lt. Dante Honorico said: “As far as we’re concerned, he’s still our suspect.”

Store owner Myron Cohen-Ross also has not been eliminated as a suspect, Honorico said. “We still haven’t ruled him out, even now,” he said. “He was and still is a suspect.”

However, Honorico said, “It’s unlikely there will be any arrests soon.”

Cohen-Ross declined to comment Monday, and his attorney, George C. Eskin, was out of town. In previous interviews, the store owner has vehemently denied any involvement in the fire.

Honorico said he was disappointed that the grand jury, after hearing 17 witnesses on Thursday, declined to indict Nagano in the arson.

“I’m very much surprised,” he said. “We have won (preliminary hearings) based on the same level of evidence. But that’s the grand jury’s prerogative. We don’t question their decision.

“We’re back to square one. . . . I guess we just have to gather more evidence.”

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin J. McGee said prosecutors could have gone ahead with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday before a Municipal Court judge. After hearing witnesses, the judge would have decided whether there was sufficient evidence to order Nagano to stand trial.

However, McGee said, “in view of the grand jury’s action . . . we felt it was appropriate to continue the investigation” before proceeding with a court case. As to whether charges might be refiled against Nagano, McGee said: “It’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

McGee said the grand jury’s reluctance to indict Nagano indicated that it would have been difficult to convict him on the evidence gathered so far. “I think it’s a fair inference that it would be tough,” McGee said.

The grand jury did indict Nagano on two charges unrelated to the arson case: receiving stolen property and possession of a machine gun. The charges stem from the discovery Oct. 26 of an allegedly stolen pistol and a semi-automatic rifle in a car in which Nagano was riding, according to court documents.

Nagano pleaded not guilty to those charges and Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele scheduled trial for Feb. 1. Nagano remains free on $50,000 bail.

The dismissal of the arson charge is the latest in a series of unexpected turns in the investigation of the fire, which caused nearly $300,000 damage.

Investigators first viewed the case as one of a series of hate crimes in the Conejo Valley because of anti-Semitic scrawlings left at the scene. The fire prompted an outpouring of sympathy and fund raising for Cohen-Ross, who is Jewish.

Then investigators said they were considering a possible economic motive.

Nagano was arrested Nov. 11, after an informant told investigators that Nagano claimed to have taken part in the arson, according to a sworn statement filed in court as part of a search warrant request. The informant--identified as Jason Kinzer--also quoted Nagano as saying that it was his idea to make it appear to be a hate crime and that store owner Cohen-Ross was going to pay him a large sum out of insurance proceeds, according to the affidavit.

Kinzer said Nagano told him that Cohen-Ross had removed the most expensive merchandise from the store a few days before the fire, according to the affidavit. Kinzer also told investigators that Nagano had shown him a videotape of the fire, the affidavit says.

Cohen-Ross denied all of the allegations attributed to Nagano.

Kinzer’s statement to investigators “was the key break in the case against Nagano,” prosecutor McGee said Monday. “In essence, his involvement allowed the case to progress as far as it did.”

Investigators obtained an arrest warrant, and Nagano spent nearly a month in jail before posting $50,000 bail--reduced by a judge from the original bail of $1 million.

But Kinzer and the other witnesses apparently did not satisfy the 17 grand jurors who heard testimony in a secret session Thursday. Deputy Dist. Atty. John U. Vanarelli, who presented evidence to the grand jury, said he is forbidden by law from discussing the proceedings.

“Apparently, they didn’t believe Kinzer,” Lt. Honorico said Monday. Kinzer, a former classmate of Nagano’s at Thousand Oaks High School, could not be reached Monday for comment.

“I think he was sincere,” Honorico said. “We haven’t changed our judgment as to the validity of his statements to us. We have no reason to disbelieve him.”

But Nagano’s attorney, Louis B. Samonsky Jr., said Kinzer’s testimony was suspect because he wants to be a police officer and may have been promised a reward if Nagano was convicted. Honorico agreed that Kinzer wants to work in law enforcement but said he does not think that ambition influenced his testimony.

Nagano was not invited to testify before the grand jury. Cohen-Ross was summoned as a witness but it was not known whether he agreed to testify. It is known that prosecutors tried to subpoena Cohen-Ross’s business records but withdrew the request after his attorney objected.

Also called to testify were several friends of Nagano and Jeff Leaverton, a former employee at the comic-book store. Investigators have said that Leaverton told them that Cohen-Ross had serious business problems in the months before the fire, and that he was a heavy gambler. Cohen-Ross denied being a major gambler and said his business problems had eased.

The grand jury is an independent arm of the judicial branch that investigates local government and considers prosecutors’ requests to issue indictments. The panel only hears evidence presented by the prosecution, and McGee acknowledged that a grand jury rarely refuses a request to indict.

Samonsky said he was surprised and pleased that the grand jury did not indict his client, but said he does not fault sheriff’s investigators for arresting him.

“They had statements from witnesses that he could be involved,” the attorney said. “I can’t say police were flying off the handle. . . . It seemed to be a hate crime. They had good reason to be very concerned.”

Nagano’s mother, Zenaida Nagano, said her son “is not capable of such a crime. I know that deep inside of me.”

She said the dismissal of the arson charges will not have much impact on the family’s Christmas.

“We have no more Christmas presents,” she said, motioning to Samonsky and smiling. “We gave them all to him.”