Brian David Franks was sentenced today to five years probation and ordered to perform 300 hours community service for his participation in the November 2007 Corral Fire that destroyed 53 homes, burned 4,900 acres and injured six firefighters.
Franks, 28, was also banned from the Corral Canyon area during his probation. As part of his community service, Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Leslie Dunn stipulated that Franks must perform brush clearance work.
Franks pleaded no contest Oct. 1 to a felony charge of recklessly causing a fire. As part of his plea deal, Franks agreed to be available to testify against the other four defendants in the case.
The attorney for Franks read a statement in October in court from his client stating that he, along with fellow Los Angeles residents Brian Alan Anderson, 23, and William Thomas Coppock, 24, rekindled an abandoned campfire in a well-known party area on top of Corral Canyon known as The Cave in the early hours of Nov. 24. Embers from the fire led to Malibu’s most destructive blaze since 1993.
The arraignment for Anderson and Coppock is scheduled for March 2.
The remaining pair, Eric Matthew Ullman, 19, and Dean Allen Lavorante, 20, are due back in court Feb. 26 at 8:30 a.m., when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for them to stand trial on the same charges.
The District Attorney’s Office said the blaze was started “during and within an area of a state of emergency,” which would require a mandatory state prison sentence if the suspects were convicted.
In addition to destroying 53 homes, the Corral Fire destroyed 37 vehicles, a mobile home and 45 structures (including 33 homes). Six firefighters were injured, with one receiving second-degree burns to the face.