Two of the four remaining defendants in the case are expected to plead guilty to all counts.
By Olivia Damavandi / Assistant Editor
The four remaining defendants accused of causing the 2007 Corral Canyon Fire are scheduled to appear at Van Nuys Courthouse this week Friday for a pretrial conference, during which two are expected to plead guilty to all counts.
A fifth defendant, Brian David Franks, 29, in 2008 agreed to a plea bargain in which he was sentenced to five years probation and 300 hours community service for his involvement with the fire. In addition, Franks agreed to testify against the other four defendants in the case.
At Friday’s hearing, which is a continuation of one that was scheduled to take place April 13, William Thomas Coppock, 25, and Brian Alan Anderson, 24, are likely to plead guilty to felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury and recklessly causing a fire to multiple inhabited structures. Motions to dismiss by the two men were rejected in February.
Neither, Anderson’s attorney, Upinder Kalra, nor Coppock’s attorney, Andrew Flier, could be reached for comment.
The other two defendants, Eric Matthew Ullman, 20, and Dean Allen Lavorante, 21, have not yet entered pleas.
The Corral Fire started after a number of individuals built an illegal campfire in a cave on state parkland at the top of Corral Canyon on Nov. 24, 2007. Embers from the fire sparked flames on the dry hillsides, which were fueled by roaring Santa Ana winds. Detectives found at the scene alcohol containers, food wrappers and bundled fire logs, which they were able to trace to the five men originally held accountable.
Prosecutors allege the blaze was started during and within an area of a state of emergency, which could result in state prison terms.
In addition, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has filed suit against the five defendants for $7.7 million. The CDF states it spent at least $7,728,362 fighting the fire, and is seeking compensation for negligence and violations of the Health and Safety Code, as well as costs. The fire destroyed 53 homes, damaged 35, burned 4,900 acres and forced the evacuation of 14,000 people.
Meanwhile, numerous Corral Canyon residents and fire victims are expected to attend Friday’s hearing, and are each preparing for it by submitting written statements that reflect how they were affected by the fire and the monetary value of what they lost to it, said Beverly Taki, coordinator of Operation Recovery, an organization that offers financial and emotional aid to Corral Canyon fire victims.
In an e-mail urging fire victims to show up in court Friday, Taki wrote: “It is extremely important that as a team, we appear in court, so that our faces are seen and that we continue to keep the heat on the defendants.”
Corral Canyon resident Brooke Halpin, whose home was saved by firefighters, in a phone interview last April said he hopes the defendants will plead guilty.
“I certainly hope it’s going to happen,” Halpin said. “The damage and the trauma and the loss these individuals have caused for my neighbors. Every time I cross my street or look out my window and I see the footprints of the foundations of my friends’ homes, it reminds me of the travesty of what happened. These individuals should be punished to the utmost, as far as I’m concerned.”