Texas Boy to Appear in Arson Case
A 12-year-old Texas boy suspected of causing a San Clemente brush fire that destroyed more than $4 million in property will probably arrive in Orange County this week to answer to arson charges, according to prosecutors.
The boy, whose name authorities have not released, will be accompanied by his parents in a tentative deal worked out with the boy’s lawyer. But if the boy doesn’t arrive by Friday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Joe Williams said he will initiate extradition proceedings.
Defense lawyer John Barnett declined to comment Monday.
The charges stem from an Aug. 1 brush fire that swept through Trafalgar Canyon and destroyed six homes. Nobody was injured in the blaze, but dozens of residents were evacuated.
On Friday, prosecutors announced they were filing charges against the boy in Juvenile Court, alleging he tossed matches into brush in the canyon and prevented two younger boys from extinguishing the flames.
The boy, who lives in El Paso but was visiting at the time of the fire, faces three counts of arson to an inhabited structure and one count of arson to a forest.
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