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He has problems, but he will not be able to pay the damages... |
Posted on 11/03/2007 2:35:11 PM PDT by yorkie
SANTA CLARITA, Nov. 3, 2007 - When arson investigators went looking for the person who set a blaze that scorched 60 square miles and destroyed 21 homes, Linda Conner says she knew right where to send them.
Minutes after the fire broke out, Conner said, she had raced up a hill toward the source of the flames. At the top, she saw a stunned-looking 10-year-old boy and his parents frantically trying to beat the flames down with towels.
"There's no reason to talk to other people," Conner, a horse trainer at the ranch where the fire started, recalled telling arson investigators. "You need to go straight up the road and talk to that boy."
The 10-year-old quickly admitted he had been playing with matches.
On Thursday, as authorities considered whether to file criminal charges, neighbors gave conflicting accounts of the boy's behavior.
Denise Tomey, who runs the Carousel Ranch where the boy lived in a small trailer with his family, described him as a quiet child who often played outside with his brother and the family's small white and tan dog, Spike.
"From what I know, he's a good kid," said Tomey, executive director of the ranch, which provides riding lessons to developmentally disabled children. The boy's father tends horses there and the boy attends a nearby school.
"He's a child and I certainly believe that he had no malice, and I absolutely believe it was accidental," Tomey said.
Some neighbors, though, called the 10-year-old a troublesome child.
Linny Martin, who lives across the road, said she often caught him throwing rocks at her horses. When she yelled at him to stop, she said, he would run up the hill to his family's trailer.
"He's got a lot of problems," Martin said.
The boy's name is being withheld....
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
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He has problems, but he will not be able to pay the damages... |
“Problems” or not, I do hope they do not punish the boy legally. If there was provable neglect, they should go after the parents.
OK, he’s 10 years old, too young to understand the enormity of the risk of ‘playing with matches’. I say, forgive him and move on.
If he were 13 or older, book him, Danno.
I want to know if the family were US citizens or not and if not were they here legally.
If they were not here legally and they were being employed by the horse ranch then the horse ranch owner should have some definite liability.
Perhaps if she'd called police instead, there would have been some serious intervention with this boy before he did millions of dollars in damage.
I tend to agree with you. If the family is living in a trailer, then they’re doing all they can to make ends meet, most likely. You can’t get blood out of a turnip. Don’t even try.
When I was about the same age, I had a fascination with fire. I found some matches, grabbed a deep pan out of the cupboard, and headed to the vacant field adjacent to our house. My only intention was to burn some twigs and grass in the pan. Within 30 seconds of striking my first match, the grass surrounding the pan caught a spark, and flames started spreading in every direction. Fortunately there was just a light breeze.
Neighbors using garden hoses extinguished the 100’ x 100’ field before it could spread. I told my parents what happened. I was duly punished. I never played with fire again.
Did I know better than to play with matches? Of course. Did I consider the consequences? I don’t remember, but it didn’t stop me. I thought I was being careful by using the pan. I’ve shared this story with my kids, and I’ve warned them about the danger, and the consequences if I ever catch them.
I feel horrible for the losses of the victims, and I also feel awful for the kid and his family. The results of his actions are tragic, but I don’t believe he should suffer for the rest of his life because he was playing with fire.
I agree with you post 100 percent!!! I find this to be a total accident. The kid should send an apology letter to all families affected in his own handwriting. That is about the most I think he could do. Maybe in high school he could give some speeches about being careful with matches and fires. But anything more I would not like to see.
This 10 year old boy is “Global Warming”?
I knew they said it’s man made, but come on...
That’s a good thing.
And if the workers are legal great.
But if they are not legal what the ranch does doesn’t excuse it.
Everyone in authority in California *seems* *to* *be* *insane.*
With the money they will recover from a 10 year old, they can certainly afford free health care for everyone.
Time to celebrate... er fiesta!
Why should the parents be responsible? When the state takes over disciplining children and not letting parents raise the kid without interference, then the state should assume the responsibility when the lad goes astray.
My nephew (about 11 at the time) started a fire in Lompoc playing with fireworks in the 80’s. I believe he ended up washing alot of Big Reds.
My nephew (about 11 at the time) started a fire in Lompoc playing with fireworks in the 80’s. I believe he ended up washing alot of Big Reds.
I like that. In fact volunteering at the fire department may end up a great career later in life.
I’m sorry but the kid is not a fault. It’s time to ban matches.
If I could count all of the children that have played with matches and lighters; I would be a millionaire.
It’s tragic this happened; and the boy should be punished for playing with matches; but I don’t believe their was malice.
That day there were hurricane-force winds. Why did the parents allow their child (only 10) to be outside in the first place? The rest of the community was hunkered down in their homes watching the winds blow down tree limbs and cause all kinds of destruction even before the fires. The parents should be prosecuted for child negligence — allowing their child to leave the house on his own during the worst wind in decades! Being poor is no excuse for irresponsible behavior.
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