Esperanza Arsonist's Plea To Leave Death Row Heard By CA Supreme Court

BANNING, CA — The arsonist who ignited a monster wildfire near Banning that claimed the lives of five federal firefighters nearly 20 years ago will remain on California's Death Row, following a state Supreme Court ruling published Monday that found no validity to his arguments challenging procedural and other aspects of his trial.

"We conclude that the cumulative effect of these assumed errors does not warrant a reversal (of the death sentence)," according to the unanimous seven-judge decision. "We conclude the defendant is not entitled to relief on appeal."

Raymond Lee Oyler, now 55, began waging his legal battles in the state appellate court system soon after his conviction in March 2009 of five counts of first-degree murder and more than 30 counts of arson and possession of incendiary devices, along with special circumstance allegations of perpetrating murder by arson and taking multiple lives.

The same four-man, eight-woman jury that found him guilty recommended capital punishment, with which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Charles Morgan concurred.

The "Esperanza Fire" set by Oyler just after 1 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2006, near the intersection of Esperanza Avenue and Almond Way amid a Santa Ana windstorm decimated the crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57, which had deployed to protect an outlying property on a hillside. Capt. Mark Allen Loutzenhiser, 43, and firefighters Pablo Cerda, 24, Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, Jason Robert McKay, 27, and Jess Edward McLean, 27, were killed.

Along with Esperanza, Oyler had lit at least two dozen other blazes from May to October 2006. However, none of those resulted in significant property damage. The Esperanza blaze consumed roughly 41,000 acres, destroying 39 homes and other buildings, as well as killing a large amount of livestock. The fire also damaged a highway before it was stopped four days later. The cost of firefighting and property destruction totaled roughly $100 million.

Oyler's appeal focused on virtually every facet of his trial, challenging the fact he was not granted a change of venue due to publicity potentially prejudicing proceedings locally, the fact his trial judge was switched less than a year before the case went to a jury, the nature of prospective jurors' responses to questionnaires, the qualifications of his lead attorney, inadequate evaluation of defense evidence and the prosecution's use of autopsy photos.

"We find the evidence sufficient to support all of the defendant's convictions," the Supreme Court stated in its 162-page decision.

At its peak, the Esperanza wildfire traveled at 30 mph, with flames as high as 70 feet, burning at 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

McKay, McLean and Hoover-Najera died within minutes of the fiery tidal wave crashing into them as they scrambled to establish defensive positions on Gorgonio View Road in Twin Pines, where they had deployed to protect a house with a pool from which the men intended to draw water.

The engine crew was alone, with county and other USFS crews remaining a safe distance from the flame wall, which trial evidence showed gained speed in an uphill "chimney" effect as it blew toward the victims.

Loutzenhiser, who like his men had been gravely burned and suffered from "inhalation of superheated air," clung to life for several hours after being transported off the hillside. Cerda, whose body was 90% scorched and swollen to twice its normal size, was kept on life-support for five days, during which he was able to acknowledge the presence of others, according to testimony. Family members ultimately decided to remove him from support.

A pathologist who examined McLean's remains found them to be in the worst condition.

"His entire body was charred with fourth-degree burns, and the intensity of the fire caused his bones to fracture and his torso to expand, causing his internal organs to come out," according to the Supreme Court's citation of trial court testimony.

The man who prosecuted Oyler, now-District Attorney Mike Hestrin, described him at the time as "obsessed with fire and a fascination with starting a fire and watching it burn."

"The enormous loss of what happened is something I carry with me," Hestrin told City News Service on the 15th anniversary of the blaze. "It was a tough case for the community and the families involved. Those five lives were cut short. I still think about the fact that those firemen went up into that inferno, and everybody else was going down to get away. It's such a symbol of how they were protectors."

Testimony showed Oyler had developed a technique of creating so-called "layover" incendiary devices, binding stick and paper matches together with rubber bands, affixing debris to them, then flinging them into brushy places to trigger fires.

Hestrin said Oyler wanted to "see that mountain burn" when he lit the Esperanza blaze.

"You can go back and find the incendiary device left there by Ray Oyler, and it leads to the death of those men -- directly," Hestin told jurors.

As of April, Oyler was one of 588 inmates on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison.