Passenger who police say started multiple fires near Murrieta homes gets 2 years in prison – Press Enterprise

A transient who police say started several fires in a field near homes in Murrieta pleaded Friday, June 21, to felony and misdemeanor charges and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison.

Francisco Villanueva, 35, admitted to one count of arson and resisting arrest as part of a plea deal with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his confession, prosecutors dropped five related charges against Villanueva.

At a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Friday, Superior Court Judge Jeff Zimel certified the terms of the plea agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to Murrieta Police Lt. Don Weller, on the afternoon of March 15, Villanueva drove through an open field behind homes in the area of ​​Clearview Street and Whitewood Road, starting several fires.

The homeowners spotted the smoke and flames and called 911.

“Murrieta Fire & Rescue quickly extinguished the fires and officers established a perimeter around the large plot of land where the subject was last seen running,” Weller said.

The agency's unmanned aerial vehicle operator was summoned and launched a drone to scour the scene with a bird's eye view.

“The drone operator observed a subject crawling through the brush in what appeared to be an attempt to hide,” the lieutenant said.

He said patrol officers were directed to the scene and Villanueva was arrested without incident.

“Murrieta Fire & Rescue investigators have confirmed that several fires were started intentionally,” agency spokesman Mike Macalinao said, without revealing the specific method by which the fires were started.

The defendant had no prior felony convictions in Riverside County.