Two teenagers from Culver City, identified by authorities as being among five young men suspected of causing the tragic Malibu brush fire on Nov. 24 that wiped out 53 homes, were being sought this morning by the County Sheriff’s Dept.
Aside from the fact that a Sheriff’s Dept. spokeswoman said the two have not yet been apprehended, little else is known about Dean Allen Lavorante,19 years old, and Eric Matthew Ullman,18.
Authorities declined to discuss the alleged roles of the Culver City residents.
The other three suspects are in County Jail, Brian Allen Anderson, 22, William Thomas Coppock, 23, and Brian David Franks, 27, all of whom gave Los Angeles addresses.
The First Step
With the whereabouts of the Culver City teenagers evidently unknown, the latter three defendants were scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Van Nuys this afternoon for arraignment.
Investigators who announced the filings and the arrests yesterday appear to have been aided in their 19-day search for culprits by outraged victims, friends and other incensed citizens angered by a second disastrous bout with brush fires in a month.
A Valuable Variable
“Outrage,” said a source, “is one of those unknowable variables that can help resolve a crime.”
All five have been charged with the same two felony counts, recklessly causing a fire resulting in great bodily injury, and recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure.
If found guilty, they could face up to 10 years in prison.
Authorities are characterizing ignition of the disaster as careless or reckless rather than deliberate, which hardly lightens the act or deserved punishment, in the opinion of the dozens of victimized homeowners.
Some 4900 acres were burned, and the losses from the several-day tragedy total $100 million. Six firefighters were injured battling the rampant blaze.
It Started with a Party?
According to arson detectives in the Sheriff’s Dept., Mr. Ullman, Mr. Lavorante and their three friends were partying not long after midnight of Friday, Nov. 23, in the hills above Malibu, in a region where partiers are known to hang out, Corral Canyon Cave.
Although precise details purposely remain fuzzy, around 2:30 on the morning of the 24th, say detectives, the five hooked up with another partying group, and it was the resulting campfire that sparked the second major brush fire in a month in the immediate area.
The suspects could be liable for stiffer than normal penalties, if convicted, because the location where the blaze erupted had been marked as an emergency area.
Apprehension Process
Old-fashioned gumshoe detective work led to the suspects. Without filling in certain story gaps, arson detectives arrived at the crime scene not long after the supposedly frightened young men fled.
Evidence abounded. It included alcohol paraphernalia, food wrappers and fire logs that still were packaged.
Unaided for the most part by modern technology, investigators fanned out and canvassed nearby stores.
“Did anything stand out about the person or people who made these purchases?” they wanted to know.
Means of Purchase
Sheriff’s Dept. spokesman Steve Whitmore told the Los Angeles Times that a major clue turned up at a Ralphs supermarket. This caused detectives to obtain a search warrant to scour the recent history of the debit card used to purchase the linked evidence.
That trail turned up one key witness, and soon other persons stepped forward..
