YUCAIPA - Human error caused the deaths of five U.S. Forest Service firefighters battling the Esperanza Fire near Banning last year, according to a 114-page investigative report. Photo Gallery: 11/03: Memorial service for Fire Captain McKay
With a ring of containment around the deadly Esperanza Fire, the manhunt for the person who started the blaze appears to have narrowed to a Beaumont mechanic. Raymond Lee Oyler, who Riverside County Sheriff's Department officials say is a "person of interest" in connection with the 40,000-acre fire that killed five firefighters, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Riverside Superior Court on charges stemming from two other fires in the Banning Pass in June.
A man wanted for jury tampering in the high-profile Esperanza Fire trial turned himself in Thursday, but his relatives say he didn't even know he was wanted until he saw himself in the news. Christopher Vaughn Hillman, a 46-year-old Hesperia man, was charged Aug. 7 with seven counts of tampering with the jury in the two-month trial of his brother-in-law, Raymond Lee Oyler.
RIVERSIDE - A defense attorney told a jury Thursday there was no evidence connecting his client to the 2006 Esperanza Fire that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters. But Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Michael Hestrin told the jury in a packed courtroom that Raymond Lee Oyler was "a man bent on destruction.
Even though a jailed arson suspect is charged with murdering five firefighters in the Esperanza Fire, some Forest Service employees fear they too could be targeted for blame in the deaths. At least four separate investigations are under way to explain exactly what happened Oct. 26 on Gorgonio View Road, where the crew of Engine 57 perished in a burn-over while trying to protect a home.
RIVERSIDE - More than three years after the Esperanza Fire that killed five firefighters was set, convicted arsonist and murderer Raymond Lee Oyler was sentenced to death Friday. Wearing wrist restraints and an orange jail jumpsuit, the 38- year-old former auto mechanic from Beaumont showed little emotion as Judge W. Charles Morgan said he would not change a jury's recommendation and sentenced Oyler to the most severe sentence.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Raymond Lee Oyler's brother-in-law, who fled earlier this month while authorities searched his home as part of a jury tampering investigation linked to the high-profile Esperanza Fire case. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office on Aug. 7 filed seven counts of tampering with a juror against 46-year-old Christopher Vaughn Hillman, of Hesperia, for flyers he allegedly plastered on the windshields of jurors' cars during the two-month trial.
TWIN PINES - Residents who fled the devastating Esperanza Fire got a few hours to return home Saturday as calming winds and higher humidity allowed firefighters to start getting a handle on the blaze. By Saturday evening, the fire hadn't advanced beyond the nearly 39,900 acres that had burned on Thursday and Friday, destroying 27 homes. The north front of the arson-set fire, which was 40 percent contained, was well under control, meaning Banning and Beaumont could breathe easier.
SAN BERNARDINO - More than three years after Raymond Lee Oyler set the deadly Esperanza Fire that killed five firefighters, the convicted arsonist and murderer was sentenced to death Friday in Riverside. Photo Gallery:Raymond Olyer Sentenced to Death
RIVERSIDE - A defense attorney told a jury Thursday there was no evidence connecting his client to the 2006 Esperanza Fire that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters. Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Michael Hestrin meanwhile told the jury in a packed courtroom that Raymond Lee Oyler was "a man bent on destruction.
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