Trial Set for Pair Indicted in Blaze

A May 15 trial has been set for two teenagers accused of starting a fire last December that burned 4,300 acres near Ojai.

Jonathan Barrett and Brett Schwermer, both 18 and Ojai-area residents, were indicted in January on felony charges of recklessly starting a fire that burned a home and forest land.

Authorities say the teens sparked the so-called Ranch fire while setting off illegal fireworks near a brushy area along Koenigstein Road in Upper Ojai.

According to grand jury transcripts, the suspects tried to stamp out the flames and then went to a nearby fire station to report the blaze after high winds began to whip it out of control.

Barrett, a senior at Nordhoff High School, is the son of Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. James Barrett, who serves as Ojai’s police chief. He told the grand jury that his son admitted shortly after the fire started that he was partly responsible.

Transcripts show the teens offered contradictory stories about who set off the fireworks, which were apparently purchased out of state.

Barrett and Schwermer turned themselves in to authorities after they were indicted by the grand jury, and remain free in lieu of $10,000 bail each.

If convicted, the teens could face up to seven years in state prison. They could also be required to repay the costs of fighting the fire, estimated at about $5 million.