Man accused of setting fire that gutted San Gabriel Mission ordered to stand trial
A man accused of setting a fire that severely damaged the San Gabriel Mission in 2020 has been ordered to stand trial on charges connected to the blaze.
After a preliminary hearing Friday, a judge ordered 59-year-old John David Corey to stand trial on two counts of arson of a structure and one count each of arson during a state of emergency and second-degree commercial burglary.
The ruling comes after the case was delayed last year.
A judge dismissed the original case against Corey in July 2021 because a key witness wasn’t available for a preliminary hearing that would have decided whether the case could proceed to trial, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
The case was refiled about a month later, and Corey pleaded not guilty to the charges in December, according to court records.
Authorities were called at 4:24 a.m. July 11, 2020, after the mission’s fire alarm was triggered. An engine arrived to investigate, and firefighters saw flames and smoke coming from the corner of the 249-year-old adobe-and-wood landmark.
A massive fire that ripped through the historic San Gabriel Mission early Saturday destroyed its roof and much of its interior, authorities say.
More firefighters arrived and mounted an aggressive attack to beat back the flames.
But after about 15 minutes, parts of the structure started to fall. Crews were ordered to exit the building and begin a defensive firefight.
The blaze was eventually raised to four alarms. It drew 80 firefighters from seven cities. By the time they knocked down the fire at 6:48 a.m., the damage to one of the region’s oldest buildings was extensive.
Flames had destroyed the roof, most of the just-refurbished church pews and portions of the interior, though some statues and other historic items survived.
The fire shocked the San Gabriel Mission Roman Catholic community and came amid a backlash against California missions and other colonial monuments that for many serve as painful reminders of the nation’s racist history.
Authorities began looking into whether it was intentionally set.
Nearly a year later, in May 2021, authorities charged Corey in connection with the blaze.
He was known at the mission and had a history of conflict with its staff, law enforcement officials told The Times after the charges were announced.
Corey believed that the Catholic Church did not hold people accountable for “bad acts,” one official said.
A 57-year-old man has been arrested and charged with arson in the fire that caused extensive damage to the San Gabriel Mission last summer.
It was another blaze that led investigators to connect him to the mission fire.
A day after the July 2020 church blaze, Corey tried to set a fire at Carl’s Shoe Repair on West Las Tunas Drive in San Gabriel, according to court records.
When San Gabriel police detectives arrested him the following day, they found an incendiary device on him, said a source with knowledge of the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The arrest led investigators to link Corey to the mission fire, Capt. Jason Sutliff of the San Marino Fire Department said shortly after he was apprehended.
Corey remains jailed and is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment on Jan. 12.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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