HUNTINGTON BEACH : Felony Warrant Issued for Police Chief’s Son

Police have issued an arrest warrant for the police chief’s son, Robert Edward Lowenberg, who served prison time for setting a fire in the Cleveland National Forest in 1987.

The $25,000 warrant was issued Sept. 5 when a security guard saw Lowenberg, 27, carrying a semiautomatic handgun. The felony warrant marks the first time that the Huntington Beach Police Department, led by Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg, has taken direct action related to the son’s troubles with the law, Lt. Dan Johnson, a police spokesman, said.

“The chief loves his son unconditionally, but he doesn’t love the things his son has been involved with,” Johnson said.

The security guard at an apartment complex in the 4900 block of Heil Avenue stopped the younger Lowenberg, allegedly armed with the pistol, but Lowenberg fled before police arrived.

Because Lowenberg was convicted of a felony--arson--in connection with the 1987 forest fire, he is prohibited from owning firearms, and any violation of that restriction is itself a felony.

Lowenberg could be returned to state prison for the felony violation, but there are no guidelines determining how much time he would serve, leaving the matter to a judge’s discretion, Johnson said.

Prosecutors said Lowenberg admitted to setting two small fires after “drinking and getting high” in the forest with a friend. The fires spread to become a blaze that took two weeks and 1,100 firefighters to extinguish.

Six firefighters were injured and about $2.7 million was spent fighting the fire, dubbed the Silverado fire because it began in Silverado Canyon.

When Lowenberg was sentenced in 1988, he pointed to a history of drug and alcohol abuse as the source of his troubles but said that he had since “completely turned my life around.”