San Bernardino County: 2003 Old Fire suspects ID'ed

Two suspects identified in catastrophic 2003 Old Fire

Authorities on Saturday identified two suspects, one of whom is now dead, in the catastrophic Old Fire, which killed six people and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in October 2003.

Sgt. Frank Bell identified 27-year-old Rickie Lee Fowler, formerly of San Bernardino, as a suspect in the case.

Fowler was convicted in San Bernardino County Superior Court in November 2003 of burglary and sentenced to nine years in prison, court records show. He is serving out his sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison.

Another source close to the investigation who asked not to be named identified Martin Valdez Jr. as the suspected driver of the white Chevrolet Astro van that was seen speeding away from the scene of the fire on Old Waterman Canyon Road. A composite sketch of the suspect circulated by the Sheriff's Department bears his likeness.

Valdez, 24, of Muscoy, was shot and killed on a Muscoy street in February 2006.

The Old Fire flared up on Oct. 25, 2003, near Old Waterman Canyon Road and burned for nine days across the San Bernardino Mountains, scorching 91,281 acres and causing $42 million in damage. Six people died of stress-related heart attacks as a direct result of the fire.

It was one of the most catastrophic wildfires in San Bernardino County's history.

Bell said he and his team of four detectives are wrapping up their case and will soon submit it to the District Attorney's Office for review.

"I would like to have it to them within the next couple of months," Bell said.

He said Fowler could face arson and murder charges.

Fowler, who the source said was a known methamphetamine user, is believed to have been a passenger in the van and the one that started the fire.

A witness parked in a turnout on Old Waterman Canyon Road reported a white man with long blonde hair fitting Fowler's description getting out of the van and hurling a lighted flare onto the hillside, the source said.

"The witness sees this guy throw something up onto the side of the hill, and he got back into the van, which makes a u-turn and goes southbound on Old Waterman Canyon Road," the source said. "And then when the van gets to the intersection of Old Waterman Canyon Road and Highway 18, it runs a stop sign, and there's a couple out of Redlands, going northbound on Highway 18, and the van almost hits them."

A passenger in that vehicle was able to give investigators a description of the driver that was the basis for the composite sketch, the source said.

Investigators believe Fowler was trying to set fire to a man's house because he was withholding methamphetamine from Fowler.

"Fowler admitted to being involved in the fires," said the source. "Then we learned the motive was that he (Fowler) wanted to retaliate against this guy who either stole his dope or was holding his dope. It was over drugs."

Ironically, the house allegedly targeted by Fowler didn't burn in the fire, the source said.

Sheriff's detectives are also seeking a third suspect who was also believed to be in the van, Bell said.

The van was located in January 2004 in an impound yard in Los Angeles County after it was repossessed from its owner, a San Bernardino resident who is not a suspect in the Old Fire. No incriminating evidence was found in the van, the source said.

"They took it (the van) from this guy," the source said of Valdez and Fowler. "Whether they took it knowingly and borrowed it . . . we don't know."

Fowler's name surfaced as a potential suspect within three months of the fire. An informant told investigators that Fowler had bragged to a friend about starting the fire, the source said.

Fowler admitted during an interview with sheriff's investigators that he was involved in the fire and was with Valdez and another man, but gave inconsistent statements as to his culpability, the source said.

He did, however, drop a crucial piece of information that was never made public.

"He admitted to running the stop sign, and that was never mentioned publicly - that they blew the stop sign," the source said. "So that was key to the confession . . . He said they almost hit a dog."

"That would be for the District Attorney's Office to decide based on what we present them," Bell said.

Sheriff's investigators have worked with both state and federal prosecutors on the case. Federal prosecutors were brought into the investigation because much of the fire occurred on federal forestry land, Bell said.

The source said the case was presented to county prosecutors in 2004, but they declined to file charges, and asked detectives to seek out more evidence.

"We made a play in 2004 to get this thing filed, and they sat on it. I thought it was bunk," the source said. "I think it's a very good case. I think it's provable beyond a reasonable doubt."

Susan Mickey, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, declined to comment Saturday.

"We're not commenting because it's an ongoing investigation," she said.

Source: dailybulletin.com - Link