Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 10:03 a.m.
Steve A. Sandoval, 36, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of arson by a Washoe County grand jury.
The July 23 fire at the Atlantis Hotel-Casino climbed a bank of fake plants in the atrium and sent smoke pouring into the upper floors of both adjoining 18-story hotel towers.
Except for minor smoke inhalation, there were no injuries and fire damage was minimal, although water from sprinklers soaked the high-rise.
Chief Deputy District Attorney David Clifton said Sandoval was staying at the hotel while attending a workshop with about 200 other federal employees.
Clifton said Sandoval works in administration at the U.S. Park Service and is expected to turn himself over to authorities here in about a week.
The prosecutor would not comment on why Sandoval allegedly set the fire.
"But based upon the motive, we don't see this as being a pyromaniac or a serious arsonist," he said.
Sandoval is charged with first-degree arson in the fire that charred the interior of the structure.
That count carries a potential penalty of two to 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
He also is charged with setting fire to the silk plants in the 18-story atrium. If convicted of that offense, he faces one to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Investigators have not revealed how the fire was set.
"It was definitely not a cigarette," said Ron Jones, an arson investigator with the Reno Fire Department.
"A cigarette won't ignite the material that was ignited," he said. "What was ignited obviously burned very well."
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