Suspect in Cocos fire found competent
A 13-year-old San Marcos girl accused of setting the devastating Cocos fire was found competent Wednesday to face arson charges related to the May 14 blaze and a second fire that began a day earlier.
In a brief hearing in Juvenile Court, the girl’s parents also learned they could be responsible for restitution costs arising from the Cocos blaze, which burned nearly 2,000 acres, destroyed 36 homes in San Marcos and Harmony Grove and forced thousands to evacuate.
A restitution amount was not discussed. County officials have said the combined cost of fighting the fire and property damage reached roughly $12 million.
Authorities haven’t said how they linked the girl to the blaze, however they have begun calling it the Washingtonia/Cocos fire — presumably to include a fire that started the same day between two homes on nearby Washingtonia Drive, near where the girl lives.
The teen — whose name is being withheld because she’s a minor — was charged in July, but the case was put on hold so she could undergo a mental competency evaluation. Such evaluations are performed to determine a juvenile’s ability — or inability, due to maturity level or mental illness — to understand court proceedings.
On Wednesday, the girl’s attorney, Ryan McGlinn, told San Diego Superior Court Judge Rod Shelton that a doctor had evaluated the child and recommended that she be found competent. Shelton agreed.
With the competency finding, the child was formally arraigned during the hearing. She pleaded not guilty to three felony arson charges related to the Washingtonia/Cocos fire and one felony count accusing her of starting the May 13 blaze. She is also charged with a misdemeanor accusing her of letting that fire get out of her control.
She remains out of custody and subject to a court-ordered curfew that she be at home between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
With the girl’s parents present in the courtroom, Deputy District Attorney Shawnalyse Ochoa gave notice to Shelton that the couple “can be made responsible for restitution in the case.”
Ochoa declined after the hearing to say how much restitution could be requested.
The girl is due back on court Sept. 16 for further proceedings. Her attorney, Ryan McGlinn, declined comment Wednesday.
Authorities have not commented on the May 13 fire, including where it was set or how big it grew.
The Cocos fire was one of several firestorms to hit the county during an unusually hot and dry week in May. It was first spotted about 3:30 p.m. May 14 on an inaccessible, brushy hillside below Washingtonia Drive, where fire crews were tackling a small blaze between two homes. The wind was blowing west in the direction of the canyon.
Though they’ve joined the names of the two fires, authorities haven’t officially said that embers from the Washingtonia blaze ignited Cocos fire in the canyon below.
Regardless, the blaze quickly grew. At one point, about 1,300 firefighters 164 fire engines and 15 aircraft were assigned to fight it.
Several fires erupted across North County that same day, charring more than 26,500 acres as it spread through vegetation left dry from prolonged drought. The cost of the May fires tallied in around $60 million.
