The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has charged Michael Scott Smith (Age 43 of Joshua Tree) with causing a forest fire.
CASE SYNOPSIS
On Monday, May 11, 2020, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, San Bernardino County Fire Department, and the California Highway Patrol responded to the reports of a brush fire near Twentynine Palms Highway and La Contenta Road.
During an investigation into the fire, Michael Scott Smith was arrested. After reviewing the report, our office has filed one count of violation of section 452(c) of the California Penal Code. This section specifies:
Penal Code Section 452
A person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he recklessly sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned, any structure, forest land or property.
(c) Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by a fine, or by both such imprisonment and fine.
CASE INFORMATION
DA Case Number: 2020-00-0024576
Court Case Number: 20000217
View Superior Court Case Information
View Charging Document
INVESTIGATING AGENCY NEWS RELEASE
View San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s News Release