Tea Fire: Tea Fire Ten - In Court today facing misdemeanor Trespass and Illegal Camp fire charges.

Tea Fire Ten in Santa Barbara County court this morning, facing non criminal misdemeanor Trespass and Illegal Camp fire charges.
The ten young adults originally accused of starting the Tea Fire are being arraigned in a Santa Barbara County court this morning.
The group of college students who built a campfire in November were suspected of accidentally causing the Tea Fire.
In February the district attorney decided there was not enough evidence "... beyond a reasonable doubt," to charge them.
The ten still face misdemeanor charges of trespassing and using a campfire without permission.
The Tea Fire destroyed more than 200 homes in the Santa Barbara area.

Nine of the 10 defendants appeared in court for the arraignment. One was out of the country.
The defendants include: Joshua Decker-Trinidad, Casey Lamonte, Stephen Reid, Lauren Vazquez, Mohammed Alessam, Hashim Hassan, Natalie Maese, Hope Dunlap, Fahad Al-Fadhel, Carver Mclelland

One by one, the group dubbed the "Tea Fire Ten" faced Judge Loberg Monday morning. Lamonte, Reid, and Maese asked for public defenders, while the other defendants let their attorneys do the talking.
The attorneys for the defendant did not want to talk on camera. The defendants and friends of the defendants had no comment as well.
Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth O'Brien released this statement:
"This is a misdemeanor trespass and illegal campfire case. The District Attorney's office already made the decision that the evidence was insufficient to file criminal charges in regard to the Tea Fire. Obviously this case is going to get attention because of its association with the Tea Fire investigation."
O'Brien says if convicted on both charges, the defendants could face a maximum of a year in jail. However she adds, in this case, that sentence is highly unlikely.

Whole story at: KSBY 6 News - Link