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Jury in Arson Deaths of Federal Wildland Firefighters May be Stuck
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- Jurors indicated Thursday they may be unable to decide some of the counts in the trial of a former auto mechanic accused of setting an arson wildfire that killed five federal firefighters in Southern California.
Attorneys said jurors told the judge they were deadlocked on an unspecific number of counts in the trial of Raymond Lee Oyler.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan told jurors to go back and keep trying, said John Hall, a spokesman for the district attorney's office. Deliberations were to resume Friday.
"It looks like they're getting close to being done," said Mark McDonald, Oyler's attorney.
Oyler, 38, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, 23 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an incendiary device. He is accused of setting blazes during a five-month period in 2006 when the fatal fire burned nearly 70 square miles.
The jury began deliberating a week ago after a monthlong trial that focused on the incendiary devices found at the scene of the various fires. Oyler's DNA was found on devices used to start two fires in June but not the ones recovered from other scenes.
The fatal blaze in October 2006 began on a hillside in the town of Cabazon and spread quickly from a valley floor up the north side of the mountains to the rural community of Twin Pines. Five members of a San Bernardino national Forest fire engine were overrun by the flames while defending an unoccupied home.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Attorneys said jurors told the judge they were deadlocked on an unspecific number of counts in the trial of Raymond Lee Oyler.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan told jurors to go back and keep trying, said John Hall, a spokesman for the district attorney's office. Deliberations were to resume Friday.
"It looks like they're getting close to being done," said Mark McDonald, Oyler's attorney.
Oyler, 38, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, 23 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an incendiary device. He is accused of setting blazes during a five-month period in 2006 when the fatal fire burned nearly 70 square miles.
The jury began deliberating a week ago after a monthlong trial that focused on the incendiary devices found at the scene of the various fires. Oyler's DNA was found on devices used to start two fires in June but not the ones recovered from other scenes.
The fatal blaze in October 2006 began on a hillside in the town of Cabazon and spread quickly from a valley floor up the north side of the mountains to the rural community of Twin Pines. Five members of a San Bernardino national Forest fire engine were overrun by the flames while defending an unoccupied home.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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