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FireWorks in California

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hamik112

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California
Well, me(16) and my friend(16) were caught in the mountains doing fireworks and arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. I have the first court date soon(first offense). When we were in the mountains I didn't do any fireworks and it was my friend who did them I merely spectated. When the police officer caught us he told us to pick up the fireworks/bottle off the ground(my friend shot some bottle rockets into the bottle). When the police officer read us our rights -" you have the right to remain silent..."The officer asked me if I did any fireworks I told him I didn't and at that moment my friend said he did them and that I didn't do any.I still got the misdemeanor and our court date is coming up and I'am kind of nervous. I plan on saying I'm not guilty. Can you guys give me some advice on whether I should choose a trial by jury or judge and what I can do to beat these charges/ anything I should know before going to trial.
-Thanks hamik
 


CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
If the offense is actually be filed as a misdemeanor you should consult legal counsel prior to attending court.

- Carl
 
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hamik112

Junior Member
I'am probably going to talk to a lawyer sooner or later ,my trial wont be for atleast another 30+ days since I haven't gone to the court date where they read you your charges and ask if you are guilty. It's just I want some advice before hand.:eek:
 
CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
hamik112 said:
I'am probably going to talk to a lawyer sooner or later ,my trial wont be for atleast another 30+ days since I haven't gone to the court date where they read you your charges and ask if you are guilty. It's just I want some advice before hand.:eek:
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Not much advice to give before court. The best bet is to consult an attorney who might be able to work out a deal or convince the DA that you were merely a spectator.

If not, pleading not guilty at the arraignment will possibly buy you a little more time to meet with an attorney.

What section were you cited for? (code section - numbers)

- Carl
 
CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
hamik112 said:
APPX11-A Section (10) UFC- Use of fireworks in fire hazard area.
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Okay ... well, that's not a California state code, so ... where were you when you were cited? A National Forest? Or was this a county or city code?

- Carl
 
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outonbail

Senior Member
One word of advice. If you plan on going to trial, you should be very careful with picking a jury. I lived in the San Bernardino mountains and my community as well as just about every other mountain community was evacuated during what was dubbed the "old fire". Unfortunately for me, I was in Vegas when the fire broke out and was not able to retrieve anything from my home including my three dogs. My home was about one hundred yards from burning to the ground. The home at the beginning of my block burned then the weather saved the rest of our block. This event is something that changes you for the rest of your life. People living in the mountains who have survived one of these uncontrollable fires or who have had to rebuild their lives back up from the ashes have absolutely no sympathy for anyone participating in activities that can turn into a disaster in a matter of minutes. If you were shooting bottle rockets, it is not a question of whether or not you might start a fire, it was a question of when. Bottle rockets are not legal anywhere in California, let alone the mountains.
There are signs posted at the road or highway that enters every national forest and mountain community warning you that fireworks are illegal to possess in the mountains. You would have to be blind not to have seen these warnings.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is this, if you are going to be going to a court which serves the mountain community you were arrested in, you are guaranteed to have at least three or four people on your jury who have lived the nightmare you were about to create with your activities and probably several more who have friends or relatives who have lived it.
These people will hang you by the balls, I can assure you!
Personally I think you should be charged with a felony, but it's not up to me.

How could you be so freaking stupid? You just didn't give a damn did you? You should be thankful that the sheriff caught you, a member of the community may have come with a rope and a shovel!
 
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hamik112

Junior Member
I'am not thankful the sheriff caught me. I didn't actually do any fireworks, honestly I didn't even want to go ,but my friend convinced to just come. The area were doing fireworks at was practically all sand and people don't live in that area. Not really the advice I was looking for.
 
CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
The section you cited above is not in any section of state law that I have ever seen or can find ... what city and/or county was this in? And, was it issued pursuant to some federal fire code? Were you on a national forest or other federal property?

- Carl
 
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outonbail

Senior Member
hanik, just to give you an idea of how seriously this situation is taken, the following is a recent article that appeared in a local paper here in Southern California and deals with the same fire I was almost wiped out by. This person was only charged with a misdemeanor for his stupidity, but read what this misdemeanor can cost in fines and I think you will be shocked.
4:57 p.m. August 7, 2007

RIVERSIDE – A 25-year-old Riverside man has been charged with negligently igniting an October 2003 brush fire that eventually merged with a larger blaze to scorch 91,000 acres in San Bernardino County, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Jeremiah D. Hope was charged last week in U.S. District Court in Riverside with one misdemeanor count each of starting a fire in a national forest without a permit and placing a motor vehicle in a manner hazardous to safety, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Johns, who heads the L.A. branch's environmental crimes section, said Hope, then 21, was trying to position his car to observe the Old Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest on Oct. 25, 2003, when the heated pipes from the defendant's sedan sparked a secondary blaze.
“He caused the fire through negligent behavior,” Johns said. “He didn't mean to start the fire. Otherwise, he'd be looking at going to prison for a very long time.”

According to the federal indictment, Hope's first alleged violation was driving his friends down a dirt road clearly marked with signs saying “No Motor Vehicles.”

“By driving his vehicle on a road that was closed to motor vehicles, (Hope) placed his vehicle in such a manner that it created an impediment and hazard to the safety and convenience of others, namely, the heat from his vehicle ignited vegetation, causing a forest fire that joined with an existing forest fire,” the indictment said.

The Santa Ana wind-driven Old Fire that Hope and his friends were trying to follow was set by an arsonist that day and was one of four major wildfires burning in as many Southern California counties at the time.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Old Fire exploded to 10,000 acres in less than 24 hours.

The brusher that Hope accidentally ignited was dubbed the Playground Fire and expanded quickly to merge with the Old Fire, according to Johns.

“As he was leaving the scene, Mr. Hope did stop and tell a fire crew that another fire had been started in the area, and that they (Hope and his friends) had started it,” Johns said.

The Old Fire prompted the evacuation of a half-dozen San Bernardino County communities, destroying 350 homes – most of them in Cedar Glen –before it was contained in early November, according to the USFS. There were also six deaths reported in connection with the blaze.

Johns said the hunt for the arsonist responsible for setting the Old Fire was still at large.

According to the prosecutor, Hope could face a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted.

The defendant is expected to appear for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Riverside later this month, though a date was not yet set, Johns said.
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Not many misdemeanor charges will include a hundred thousand dollar fine. In fact, no others I know of.

So you should take this charge very seriously, especially if you have been charged under federal law.

Hire a attorney today!
 
CdwJava

CdwJava

Senior Member
After doing a little research it appears that local governments in CA have adopted appendixes and elements of the CA Fire Code into what is now called the Uniform Fire Code. It would appear, then, that this was a cite for a county code violation ... SOOOO that means before anyone can say what you have been cited for, and what elements the state has to prove, you will need to 'fess up as to what county this was in.

- Carl
 
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