Wednesday afternoon the jury in the trial of Raymond Lee Oyler recommended that he be put to death. The judge set the formal sentencing date for June 5.
Oyler was found guilty on 42 counts of first degree murder and arson, including setting the October 26, 2006, Esperanza fire which burned 41,000 acres near Cabazon, California and resulted in the deaths of the five-person crew of Engine 57 from the San Bernardino National Forest. Killed were Capt. Mark Allen Loutzenhiser, 43, Jason Robert McKay, 27, Jess Edward McLean, 27, Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, and Pablo Cerda, 24.
****
UPDATE November 12, 2013:
Esperanza Fire Factual Report, and the USDA Office of Inspector General’s Report on the fire.
