Convicted felon Steven Rutherford is accused of setting nine recent fires. (credit: CBS)
Posted on 09/05/2014 9:18:36 PM PDT by BenLurkin
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — A serial arsonist was sentenced Friday for setting a series of nine fires in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Steven Taylor Rutherford, 49, of Banning was ordered to spend 45 years in state prison.
“Serial arsonists like Mr. Rutherford present a continual danger and threat to everyone in the Inland Empire region,” Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said.
Rutherford was arrested June 28, 2013, after a lengthy investigation by California fire arson investigators.
He was convicted of intentionally starting nine fires from Sept. 6, 2011, to June 28, 2013, which in total caused damage to about 670 acres.
Officials said Rutherford’s most recent fire was set in San Bernardino County, which burned about 534 acres and damaged four properties, including two homes.
“This sentence ensures that he will spend the rest of his life in prison and will no longer be a threat,” said Zellerbach.
Authorities said he was connected to the series of fires through surveillance cameras and GPS trackers that were placed on his vehicle by law enforcement.
Rutherford was initially charged with 13 counts of arson, however, three of the counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
On July 31, he pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts of arson.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the total loss in the nine arson fires is estimated to be $1.16 million
“Shoot to maim looters.....shoot to kill arsonists”
Richard Daley, Dem Mayor of Chicago.
1968, after the assassination of MLK.
Under the jail!
Wow, I’d say this guy deserves a little something more than just prison time.
Interesting. He will be spending the rest of his life in jail. Before the plea bargain what was he facing?
We were in California one year when fires broke out. We were up on the top level of a parking garage and I saw three fires in a row. Couldn’t tell how far apart they were but say about ten feet to twenty feet apart. I thought that was odd, all starting about the same time, all about the same size. Later I learned on the news, this is a big clue that it is arson, arsonists start them in several places like that. It was eerie. I think they caught that arsonist. I always wonder if some of the people on that roof were arsonists, watching their work. But I had no way of knowing. It was a really bad fire. Our son was in a dorm without AC so he had to have window open and the smoke and ash came right in. He had cloth fastened over his window in his bedroom to try to keep the ashes out.
I live in SoCal by the mountains to the east of Los Angeles and I’ve seen very many fires over the years. Most of them are purposely set by arsonists. They wait until the conditions are hot and dry and windy then they set fires on hillsides and areas that will go up big.
Once an arsonist is caught he should be held in prison or mental institution until they are no longer a threat. Because setting fires is a mental problem it should be treated more serious than just a crime.
When will we ever get back to using common sense in this country again?
So Dems had more sense back in the day?
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