Man Pleads Guilty in Setting Deadly Wildfire

A West Covina man pleaded guilty Thursday to setting a signal fire in the Cleveland National Forest that spread into a blaze that rampaged for 11 days, killing 15 people and destroying 2,000 homes.

In exchange for the plea, federal prosecutors dropped a count against Sergio Martinez, 34, of lying to federal officers about the blaze.

With that charge eliminated, Martinez faces a maximum of five years in prison for setting an illegal fire in a national forest. If he had been convicted of both counts, the maximum penalty would have been 10 years.

Outside the downtown San Diego courthouse, Martinez apologized to the families of the dead and families who lost their homes. He said he set the fire in hopes of being rescued by a friend after becoming lost during a hunting trip.

“My heart goes out to them. I pray every day,” Martinez said. “I have to do the right thing. None of this was intentional.”

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez accepted the plea bargain and set sentencing for Aug. 5. Martinez remains free on $100,000 bail.

Martinez’s attorney, W. Phillip Higgins of Los Angeles, concurred with the guilty plea. “Our client is a very ethical person. He stepped up to the plate and did the right thing,” the lawyer said.

When asked about a possible prison term for Martinez, Higgins said, “I think my position is that no jail time is appropriate.”

Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Lasater, the lead prosecutor, said he wanted to talk to victims of the fire before making a sentencing recommendation to Benitez.

During the brief hearing, the judge asked Martinez to explain in his own words why on Oct. 25, 2003, he started the deadliest wildfire in California history.

“I got lost, got completely dehydrated, piled up stuff and set fire, put it out, set it again and couldn’t put it out, and it was too late,” Martinez said haltingly.

Several people who lost homes attended the hearing. Diane Conklin, who has formed the Committee for Full Accounting to research the reasons why the fire spread, said she was disappointed that there would not be a trial.

She said her group wanted “a full-fledged investigation” into local agencies’ response to the fire. A trial would have provided a possible forum for such an inquiry.

“We don’t believe the U.S. attorney has done their job,” Conklin said.

Lasater declined to respond to the assertion. “I’m not commenting on private groups on what they feel about” the plea bargain, he said.

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Special correspondent Neal Putnam contributed to this report.