The man accused of deliberately setting the deadly 2003 firestorm in San Bernardino that destroyed 1,000 homes will face the death penalty if convicted.
Rickie Lee Fowler, 28, who has been in state prison
since 2003 for burglary, was charged in October with five counts of murder as well as arson and aggravated
arson.
“A decision to seek the death penalty in a case is never an easy
one. In fact, it’s the most difficult one we make as prosecutors. We never take
that responsibility lightly," San Bernardino District Atty. Michael Ramos said in a statement last week. "As in all matters, we look very closely at the
facts of each case and make a determination based on the factors of aggravation
and mitigation as provided by law.”
The 91,000-acre wildfire broke out Oct. 25, 2003, at Old Waterman
Canyon Road and California 18 in the San Bernardino Mountains. It
quickly raced through the forest and brush, forcing the evacuation of
more than 30 communities and 80,000 people. Six men died of heart
attacks, and investigators said five of those deaths were directly
related to the stress of the fire.
On Christmas Day of that year,
a huge mudslide caused by intense rain swept through a church camp in
Waterman Canyon, killing 14 people.
No motive for the arson has been
disclosed.
— Shelby Grad
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