Teenager makes deal in arson

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.

A 17-year-old boy who started one of the largest arson-related fires in Clark County history "got a lucky break" with a sentence of an indeterminate amount of time in a juvenile correction facility, District Judge William Voy told the teen Monday afternoon.

The teen admitted Monday afternoon that he started a Sept. 4 fire that destroyed the Firenze Luxury Apartment Complex under construction near Russell Road and Boulder Highway. The admission was part of a plea agreement to avoid being tried as an adult.

At what was scheduled as a certification hearing, Voy sentenced the teen to complete a program at one of the state's juvenile correction facilities, perform 200 hours of community service with the Southern Nevada Fire Prevention Association and pay an as-yet undetermined amount of restitution. The judge also placed the teen on parole until he was 21.

The teen's parole will include whatever psychiatric counseling the state deems necessary and will ban him from possessing anything flammable or combustible, including cigarettes or lighters, Voy said.

"I want you to understand you got a very favorable negotiation, a substantial benefit," Voy told the teen. "This is probably the only break you'll ever have in your life."

If the teen had been certified as an adult, he could have faced two to 15 years and $15,000 in restitution for each of the nine counts of first-degree arson. Under state law he is responsible for the initial fire and all of the additional fires it caused.

A psychological evaluation of the teen found that he had deep emotional issues and that he operated at the level of a 10-year-old, J.D. Evans, the teen's attorney, said. At times during the hearing the teen appeared to have difficulty speaking, but he told the judge he understood the sentence.

"I'm not going to get in trouble again after I'm released," the teen said.

The teen told the court that he and a friend were walking through the construction at the Firenze apartment complex and "tagging" the walls with graffiti when he stopped to smoke a cigarette on Sept. 4. He then lit a cardboard cigarette package on fire, threw it against a piece of wood and walked off.

When the two turned around, they saw that the building was on fire, the teen said.

"We were going to go back but we saw how big it was," the teen said. "We got scared and took off running."

By the time the two juveniles got to Boulder Highway, the fire department and police were already battling the blaze, the teen said. He told the judge he "wasn't thinking" when he threw the flaming package, but did not intend to start the fire.

The fire spread from the one building to the rest of the complex, destroying 349 unoccupied apartments. The flames then jumped the fence and scorched about 24 nearby condominiums near the 6300 block of Extreme Shear Avenue. Neighborhood residents had to evacuate.

For the Firenze complex alone, which at the time was owned by Ovation Development, the damage is estimated at $8 million to $9 million, Ginger Woods of the Victim's Assistance Program, said.

Woods said she is still gathering insurance estimates from the other victims and did not have a total amount for the court. The teen will most likely pay a percentage of the damages based on the insurance deductables, court officials said. The sentence, including restitution, is scheduled to be finalized March 22.

"Obviously, if we are talking $8 million to $9 million, there's no way he's going to be able to pay that back before he's 21," Voy said.

The other teen has not been charged in the case because of insufficient evidence, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan VanBoskerck said.

As part of the 17-year-old's plea agreement, the state dropped a battery charge against him stemming from a fight with another juvenile while he was in juvenile detention on the arson charges.

Depending on which facility has room, the teen could spend anywhere from six months to a year at youth camps in Elko or Caliente or at Summit View youth prison in Las Vegas, Evans said.

The teen will not be released on parole until he successfully completes the correctional program, VanBoskerck said.

The teen will not receive credit for the four months he has already served in detention, Evans said.

Both Evans and VanBoskerck said the plea agreement was appropriate considering the facts of the case and the defendant's background, including his emotional maturity.

"There is no evidence at all in this file that he intended to burn this complex down or the surrounding homes," Evans said.

"I think everyone realizes he didn't intend it."