Guilty Pleas in Eagle Fire; 2 Men Avoid Life Sentences After Deal

Two members of Los Coyotes Indian tribe changed their plea to guilty in the Eagle Fire arson case Friday to accept a deal that will send them to state prison for six years instead of serving life sentences.

Jesse Durbin and Jeremy Ortiz last year pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and arson on forest land in the aftermath of a 14,100-acre brush fire that erupted on their reservation near Warner Springs.

Dubbed the Eagle Fire, the blaze in July brought in more than 2,000 firefighters and helicopters and other equipment from all over the state at an estimated cost of $15.4 million.

Cal Fire, State Parks, Los Coyotes Indian Tribe and ERTC, a private company, were named as the victims in the case and all agreed to the plea deal, prosecutor Terri Perez told the court Friday.

The men admitted to setting on fire a guard shack on land leased by ERTC on the reservation. ERTC, formerly known as Eagle Rock Training Center, leased the land to offer it to the military for training and to film companies for production.

Prior to the fire, Ortiz had resigned from working for ERTC at the guard shack, known by the company as an identification checkpoint, according to ERTC in a news release last year.

Perez told the court that all parties were satisfied that Durbin and Ortiz did not mean to cause the extent of damage that ensued when they lit the guard shack on fire. She said evidence found at the scene indicated the men were under the influence of alcohol at the time.

"They had to flee the scene and had to be rescued by firefighters," she told Judge Daniel Goldstein at the Vista branch of San Diego Superior Court.

The motive for burning down the shack was not known, she told Patch outside the courtroom.

As part of the deal, the charge of aggravated arson was dropped.

A restitution hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. on May 11 at the courthouse. At that time, it is expected that there will be discussion about Cal Fire's need to recoup the cost of the fire suppression.

No other structures were burned in the fire, which burned from the reservation through rugged, barren terrain into the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.