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The Norco man was found guilty of intentionally igniting a line fire that burned about 44,000 acres in the San Bernardino Mountains and wounded six firefighters, authorities said.
Justin Halstenberg, 35, was found guilty on Thursday of seven counts related to the line fire and two counts related to the subsequent flames, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. His accusations include arson that has deteriorated forest areas and property, and possession of flammable materials.
He faces the biggest life sentence in prison, prosecutors said.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg was convicted of seven counts in a destructive line fire.
(San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office)
Halstenberg became an interest target after an automatic license plate reader linked the pickup truck to a location near the start of the Linefire, which began on September 5th.
Prosecutors accused him of intentionally launching three fires in Highland City within an hour.
His first attempt was wiped out by firefighters near Bacon and Lytle lane, prosecutors said. The second was trampled down by the good Samaritans just east of Bacon Lane.
The third was set by the intersection of Baseline and Aprin Street and became a linefire. The flames forced more than 11,000 residents to evacuate and damaged several property, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.
Halstenberg pleaded not guilty to causing the Line fire. His mother previously defended him in the times, saying, “I want to say this about my boy. He didn’t light that fire, I repeated that he didn’t light it.”
In the final discussion, prosecutors said Harstenberg started a fire in the Jurupa Valley in 2023 and practiced using an ignition device consisting of cigarette boxes filled with paper and coins, using a fire device used to squeeze it when thrown. Detectives discovered similar devices at the start of the Linefire, the outlet reported.
San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Lowe praised investigators and prosecutors for sending a message that they were responsible for their destructive actions.
“I commend the district attorney, county sheriff, county fire, and Cal Fire for their sincerity and hard work. “Today, they brought justice to the victims, our residents and the land we all cherish.”
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