Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Arsonist Responsible for Firefighters’ Deaths

By Sarah Harper

Published on March 24, 2009

On Wednesday a California jury recommended the death penalty for Raymond Lee Oyler, a Beaumont, California resident responsible for starting fires that caused the deaths of five firefighters in 2006.

The jury convicted Oyler on 11 counts of arson, 10 counts of use of an incendiary device in the arsons, and 5 counts of first-degree murder, including two special circumstances: that multiple murders were committed, and that the murders were committed during an act of arson. The charges make Oyler eligible for the death penalty.

The fires, a blaze referred to as the Esperanza fire, occurred in 2006 outside Los Angeles (in the Twin Pines and Poppet Flats areas). The 41,173-acre fire claimed the lives of firefighters Mark Loutzenhiser, 44; Jess McLean, 27; Jason McKay, 27; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, all of whom died in the fire; and Pablo Cerda, 23, who died after five days in the hospital. The blaze also destroyed 34 homes and 20 outbuildings.

These are not the first arson charges Oyler has faced; he was also charged with two counts of arson in a June 2006 fire in the Banning Pass area.

Oyler's sentencing is set for June 5.

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