Criminal Justice Quote: Man Accused of Setting Massive California Wildfire

     A 37-year-old man was arrested and accused of igniting the massive King Fire that has burned 71,000 acres of Sierra foothills east of Placerville, California…El Dorado County authorities took Wayne Allen Huntsman into custody Wednesday September 17, 2014 on suspicion of felony arson. He was jailed in lieu of $10 million bail.

     The King Fire, that began Saturday September 13, 2014 and ranks as one of the largest wildfires burning in California, has forced thousands from their homes and closed a stretch of Highway 50, the popular route between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe.

     Strong mountain winds were pushing the inferno north Thursday September 18 through the El Dorado National Forest. About 500 structures have been damaged by the fire. Its trajectory was through sparsely populated hills…More than 2,000 homes remain threatened, however…The blaze is one of 11 major wildfires burning in drought-stricken California….

"King Fire: Suspected Arsonist Arrested in El Dorado County," sfgate.com, September 18, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Prosecutor Comes Down Hard on Fire Starter

     Police arrested a Kansas woman who was severely lacking in common sense on Friday, June 27, 2014. She had set a fire in her duplex to kill a spider. Around 1:36 AM Friday morning, the Hutchinson Fire Department received a call about the fire. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from 34-year-old Ginny M. Griffith's half of the duplex…

     Griffith started the fire by igniting towels with a cigarette lighter in a haphazard attempt to kill the spider. The fire caused minor damage to the dwelling and caused no injuries. A local prosecutor charged Griffith with aggravated arson because there were people on the other side of the duplex. [If convicted of this charge the judge could sentence this woman up to twenty years in prison.]…

Julian Kimble, "Woman Ends Up With Arson Charge After Trying to Kill Spider With Fire," complex.com/tv, June 29, 2014  

Criminal Justice Quote: Arson Arrest in Seattle

     A 30-year-old man was arrested on February 1, 2014 on suspicion he set a fire on New Year's Eve at Seattle's Neighbours Nightclub on Capital Hill….Police say someone poured gasoline and set fire to a carpeted stairway inside the gay nightclub. The fire was quickly extinguished. Someone pulled a fire alarm triggering the evacuation of about 750 patrons. No one was injured….

     The man was arrested as he made his way to the airport….He was interviewed by detectives following his arrest, and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of arson….Police say they found an empty gas can at the top of the stairs which led to the mezzanine overlooking the dance floor.  [Why didn't the prosecutor charge this man with attempted homicide? Acts like this have led to fast-spreading fires and mass murder.]

Susan Kelleher, "Man Arrested in New Year's Eve Arson at Neighbours Nightclub," The Seattle Times, February 1, 2014