 A video display shows a photo of arson suspect Raymond Lee Oyler, who was arrested in connection with the Esperanza wildfire that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters, during a news conference today in Riverside, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) |
By Gillian Flaccus
The Associated Press
Investigators said Thursday they are seeking arson and murder charges against a man suspected of setting a Southern California wildfire last week that killed five firefighters.
The suspect, Raymond Lee Oyler, 36, is already under arrest on suspicion of setting two other wildfires over the summer.
Sheriff’s investigators sought to charge Oyler with murder, arson and use of an incendiary device, Undersheriff Neil Lingle said.
The blaze was the deadliest for firefighters since 14 were killed in July 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colo., according to the National Interagency Fire Center statistics.
District Attorney-elect Rod Pacheco said prosecutors would file charges later Thursday.
Oyler will also face two so-called special circumstances, one alleging murders committed during arson and another alleging multiple murders, Pacheco said. A court appearance was set for later Thursday.
The charges are punishable by life in prison without parole or the death penalty, Pacheco said.
A woman who answered the phone at the home of Oyler’s mother said she had no comment.
The fire was stoked by Santa Ana winds as it swept southwest through the San Jacinto Mountains. The flames overran the fire crew, destroyed 34 homes and charred more than 60 square miles before being contained Monday.
Three firefighters died at the scene, and a fourth died soon after at a hospital. A fifth was taken off life support and died this week.
Investigators interviewed Oyler on Oct. 27, served a search warrant on his residence Monday, then arrested him Tuesday.
In Joplin, Mo., police and court records show Oyler had mostly minor run-ins with the law from 1997 through 1999. The most severe was a 1999 misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order by entering his wife’s apartment while she was out. The couple divorced in 2001.