Teen Is Convicted of Starting Blaze in Anaheim Hills

A 17-year-old was convicted Friday of recklessly setting an Oct. 26 Anaheim Hills fire that gutted two homes, threatened 29 others and caused more than $1 million in damage.

The Anaheim Hills teen-ager testified that he was lighting a cigarette when he dropped a match, sparking the out-of-control blaze, defense attorney Dennis M. McNerney said.

“It was an accident,” McNerney said.

Superior Court Judge Anthony Rackauckas found the youth guilty of the felony charge after a closed, two-day trial in Orange County Juvenile Court.

The prosecutor, Carl Biggs, declined to comment, citing a court order to keep the case confidential. On Friday, court officials refused to release any information about the case.

The youth will be sentenced Dec. 30 and could face several months in a juvenile facility, McNerney said.

McNerney disputed the prosecution’s contention that the teen-ager set the fire as a prank to scare his friends.

He said he respects the judge’s decision, but believes the hysteria over recent arson fires in Laguna Beach and Malibu and the barrage of media attention has contributed to harsh treatment of his client.

“The problem is everyone is up in arms about it,” he said. “The community was really scared, there has been a whole lot of publicity about it. I think he is being treated differently than if there had not been the Laguna and Malibu fires.”

The Anaheim Hills fire began when the Anaheim youth and several friends were hanging out, drinking and smoking, on a hillside off Stage Coach Road near the border of Villa Park and Orange, officials said. Fire officials said they found 40-ounce malt liquor bottles strewn amid the ashes where they believe the flames started.

McNerney said his client, who has been in custody since his Nov. 8 arrest, has already served an adequate sentence. The judge denied a defense request to allow the teen-ager to spend the holidays with his family.

“Even if you assume there was stupidity, negligence and recklessness involved, he’s been (in juvenile custody) 40 days already. There is no evidence that this was intentional.”

The teen-ager is relieved the trial is over, McNerney said. The youth--a high school dropout--is extremely remorseful, he said.

“He is feeling very guilty about being responsible for the fire,” the attorney said. “He has really been in his own private little hell over starting this fire.”

The case has triggered debate about the shroud of secrecy that veils juvenile court proceedings, often leaving interested parties--such as the fire victims--in the dark. Court officials, for example, refused Friday to release the outcome of the case, even though the juvenile has not been publicly named.