Indiana
man charged in Santa Catalina fire
LONG
BEACH (AP) — An Indiana man has been arrested and charged with starting the
Santa Catalina fire in May that burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed
several structures, including a home, prosecutors said Jan. 22.
Gary
Dennis Hunt, 49, was arrested Saturday in Indiana and is in the custody of the
Gibson County Sheriff’s Department in Preston, said Deputy District Attorney
Ann W. Ambrose. He waived extradition Tuesday in Preston. He was expected to be
arraigned in Long Beach Superior Court next week.
Hunt
was charged with felony counts of recklessly causing fire to an inhabited
structure and recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest, according to
a statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He
faces a maximum term of over eight years in state prison if convicted,
prosecutors said.
Hunt was working as a subcontractor on the island and was
using an open-flamed torch to cut cables on the island’s radio tower on May 10,
2007, when the fire sparked and spread out of control, prosecutors said.
Several firefighters were injured while fighting the wind-driven blaze that
caused more than $5 million in damage.