Videographer Held in Leona Valley Arson

A fire that destroyed four houses and consumed more than 5,000 acres last summer was set by a freelance videographer who sold footage of the blaze to television news stations, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Friday.

Joshua Harville of Palmdale, 23, was arrested on suspicion of setting the fire that forced more than 200 people to flee for their lives. He was held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Harville’s arrest in Palmdale Friday culminated an 11-month investigation into the cause of the Sept. 3, 2002, blaze in Leona Valley by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Detail, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry.

It took more than two days for 750 firefighters to control the fire, which spread quickly through brush parched by one of the driest years on record. Some evacuees escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

Investigators have not determined a motive, but said that Harville was linked to the crime through statements he made during television news interviews as well as through video footage he sold to news stations.

“He appeared on television interviews, and some of his comments to the media were inconsistent about his actions on the day of the fire,” said Deputy Harry Drucker, a sheriff’s spokesman. “The fact that he later sold footage that he shot of the fire would indicate a possible motive.”

Deputies also seized extensive evidence from Harville’s residence when they served a search warrant there Friday, Drucker said. No additional details were released.

Neither Harville nor his attorney could be reached for comment Friday.

Rob Tuckman, an employee of On Scene Video Productions of Long Beach, who has bought footage from Harville’s freelance video company Code 3 Media Productions during the last two years, said he was surprised to learn of the arrest.

“We have found his work to be of the utmost quality and his character outstanding,” Tuckman said in a statement. “We stand behind Mr. Harville and his family 100%, and are confident that once all the facts have been presented, he will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

Sheriff’s officials said that Harville’s fire footage was bought by some of the major news stations in Los Angeles. On Friday, officials of two local stations said they were clients of On Scene Video. Others declined to comment or did not return calls.

KABC-TV Channel 7’s spokesman Bill Burton acknowledged dealing with On Scene Video. “We buy from them on a regular basis,” he said. “There’s a very strong chance we did air [Harville’s video].”

Jeff Wald, news director for KTLA-TV Channel 5 -- which is owned by Tribune Co., also the owner of The Times -- said: “We are one of the stations that bought the video and put it on the air.” Stations typically pay about $150 per video clip, he said.

Fifteen to 20 other companies in the area do similar freelance video work on breaking news stories, he said. In 34 years in Los Angeles, Wald said, “I’ve never had this sort of thing happen.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a wake-up call to other companies. It puts them on notice that they need to check out the people who work for them.”

Soon after the blaze, arson investigators ruled out accidental causes for the fire. They found physical evidence consistent with arson, Drucker said, although he did not provide details.

Investigators will examine all of Harville’s video footage to determine if he is connected to other fires.

For Kendra Supple, a teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District who lost her home and livestock in the blaze, the arrest brought up a slew of bad memories.

“I lost antiques four generations old,” Supple said. “I lost all of my children’s pictures, my grandma’s china, my Gibson guitar. I don’t know what to say. I’m sort of numb.”

Supple, who has yet to rebuild on her property, said she was still dumbfounded that anyone would set a fire so close to homes and horses.

In addition to her home and her chickens and rabbits, Supple said the fire burned 60 old, large trees on her property.

“I’m sitting in this 100-degree weather with no shade,” said Supple, who is living in a trailer on her land. “I’ll be dead before the large trees come back. My whole life has been turned upside-down since that fire.”

The Los Angeles County district attorney is reviewing the case and could charge Harville as early as Monday, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

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Times staff writer Michael Krikorian also contributed to this report.