Corona Man Acquitted of Starting Wildfire
Jurors have acquitted a Corona man charged with sparking last year’s 16,000-acre Cerrito wildfire by pulling a sheet of scrap metal behind his truck.
Richard Drew Brown faced up to six years in prison if convicted of negligence for dragging the 980-pound steel plate behind his truck. Prosecutors said it sent sparks into the brush and started the May 2004 blaze.
A witness testified that Brown wasn’t in the area when the fire started.
The fire began between Corona and Lake Elsinore. Three houses, seven mobile homes, 17 out-buildings and 63 vehicles were destroyed.
The cost of fighting the fire was nearly $4 million.
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