By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
Superior Court Judge J. David Mazurek, on Tuesday, March 18, rejected a motion by the Public Defender’s Office to have 35-year-old Line Fire arson suspect Justin Wayne Halstenberg’s case moved out of San Bernardino County. The District Attorney’s office reportedly opposes the motion.
The Line Fire, which Norco resident Halstenberg is accused of intentionally igniting near the intersection of Baseline and Alpine streets in the city of Highland on Sept. 5, 2024, charred 43,000 acres of forest timber and tinder-dry brush, injured six firefighters and damaged or destroyed five structures. District Attorney Jason Anderson said investigators found Halstenberg’s DNA on an ignition device that was described as legal paper wrapped around coins.
Halstenberg’s public defender, Justin Ewaniszyk, explained to the court that he believes his client could never get a fair trial in San Bernardino County because of the nature and gravity of the offence and the news coverage. Ewaniszyk argued that, due to numerous factors, including widespread smoke inhalation, school cancellations and trip and traffic disruptions that took place before the Line Fire was contained, it would be difficult to find someone in San Bernardino County who had not been affected.
“In this case,” Ewananiszyk said, “because so many individuals in the county were affected, I think there is a very high likelihood that anybody on the jury is either going to personally have been affected by the fire or know somebody that has. We’re talking about tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people, in the county that have been personally affected by the fire” he said.
Noting that the news coverage he has read about the Line Fire was essentially fact-based and not unduly inflammatory to the defendant, Judge Mazurek said, “The court does not believe the standard for changing the venue has been met. I will deny at this point, without prejudice, the defense’s motion for change of venue.”
Halstenberg pled not guilty at a Sept. 17 arraignment hearing to 14 felony charges, including aggravated arson, arson of an inhabited structure and arson causing great bodily injury. If convicted of all 14 counts, Halstenberg could be sentenced to a term of 20 years in a state prison. He was due back in court on Wednesday, March 26. The Alpine Mountaineer will continue to follow this story.
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