LAKE COUNTY — A Clearlake man was arrested Friday on suspicion of committing a string of arsons around the county during the past year.
Norman Ralph Henderson, 61, a yard worker, was arrested by Lake County Sheriff”s Department Investigator Corey Paulich and Lake County Arson Task Force Investigators Brice Trask and Chris Vallerga.
According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, an investigation began a year ago April when the string of 10 fires began. At some point in the investigation, officials realized they had a “serial arsonist” on their hands, Hinchcliff said, and the investigation gained momentum about two weeks ago. The fires took place between April 25, 2007 and April 10, 2008.
The charges allege Henderson intentionally set fire to two recreational vehicles in Clearlake, and started eight fires on Bartlett Springs Road between Lucerne and Indian Valley Reservoir. Those include two vacation residences that were total losses, three structures in the Bartlett Springs Road area including a cabin owned by the Yolo County Flood Control District, a Bartlett Springs water bottling structure and two wildland fires.
Henderson was booked into the Lake County Jail Friday at 3 p.m., where he remains on bail of $100,000 for felony arson. Arraignment is set today at 1:15 p.m. in the Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport, Hinchcliff said. An exact courtroom was unknown at press time, as Hinchcliff said those can change daily.
Last month, Henderson was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a roadside produce stand on Highway 20 in Colusa County. Previously, he was convicted of arson in Nevada and in Butte County.
Hinchcliff said serial arson cases are not uncommon in Lake County. The most recent serial arson case occurred in 2004, when Joshua Allen Nichols of Clearlake was sentenced to eight years in prison for arson and burglary. He along with Donald Shawn Anderson and Rose Marie Anderson were convicted of starting several fires. Rose Anderson was sentenced to 11 years in state prison, and Donald Anderson was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
“There are a lot of fires that go unsolved. I have sent some people to prison for quite some time ? it”s a matter of catching people,” Hinchcliff said.
He said he has seen numerous cases where arsonists are also sex offenders. “Those two go hand in hand sometimes ? they get off on it. You also have some arsons that are financially motivated, and some people do it for fun. Ten years ago a man burned his mobile home down to get the insurance ? Some people set them because they have mental health problems,” Hinchcliff said.
He said sentencing for arson depends of what kind of arson, how many fires are set and whether the arsonist has prior convictions.
“Arson with a structure, you can get up to eight years for that alone. A non-inhabited structure you can get up to six [years], a wildland fire up to six years,” Hinchcliff said.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
