California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

On Tuesday night, detectives were conducting surveillance of the Orange County Church of Christ in Irvine in the 100 block of Goodyear. Detectives noticed Izad Chavoshan putting a trash can near the front door of the church and lighting the contents on fire. They then noticed him lighting scraps of paper on fire and then trying to put the burning paper through the church door. Detectives stopped him, searched him and arrested him for suspicion of arson. They found matches on him and lighter fluid in his car. Detectives are looking into four separate similar arson attempts and think that Chavoshan was a member of the church at one time but became disenchanted due to philosophical differences.

Arson is the act of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to property, land, business or a residential building. Penalties can range anywhere from no jail time to almost 10 years in prison, depending on the severity of the damage. Whether you live in Newport Beach, Mission Viejo or Fullerton, if you are charged with arson, call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away. Your attorney may be able to help lower your charges or sentence.

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The Los Angeles Station Fire that started a couple of weeks ago, was just ruled to be an arson fire. Officers are looking for the arsonist who they think matches the profile of a typical arsonist: a while male between 15-25 years old who set the fire out of revenge. The Station Fire has burned about 230 square miles, burned down 60 homes and killed two firefighters. The California governor has authorized a $100,000 reward to any person that turns in the arsonist. Once this arsonist is caught, he will be charged with murder and arson and will likely face the death penalty.

Humans are the number one cause of fires in Southern California. In 2008, humans caused over 5,000 wildfires, which was the highest number in years. Arsonists are hard to catch though because they rarely come back to the scene of the crime and normally burn areas that are not commonly populated or recorded on surveillance cameras. Whether you live in Anaheim, Laguna Beach or Orange, if are charged with arson, you will need an experienced defense attorney to assist you.

Continue reading "California's Station Fire Ruled an Arson" »