A defense attorney said Friday, Dec. 3 that he will file a motion to dismiss the charges against the couple accused of arson and involuntary manslaughter after authorities say a mishap in their gender-reveal photoshoot ignited the El Dorado fire in San Bernardino County in 2020.
The motion by Michael Scafiddi, made at the San Bernardino Justice Center, will be heard on Feb. 4.
The motion is often filed in felony cases and relies on convincing a judge that there is not enough evidence to charge someone with the crimes alleged.
“They’re routinely denied but occasionally granted,” Laurie Levenson, a professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said Friday.
Refugio Jimenez and Angelina Jimenez were not required to attend Friday’s hearing, and they didn’t. They were ordered to appear on Feb. 4. They are not in custody.
They were indicted by a grand jury and charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing a fire to property of another. They have pleaded not guilty and are not in custody.
“This is a tragic event, and Mr. and Mrs. Jimenez are heartbroken for the loss of life and the devastation to our community,” Scafiddi said after the hearing.
He declined to reveal personal information about the couple, including their professions and whether the child born after the fire started was a boy or girl.
The fire started Sept. 5, 2020, at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa when sparks from a pyrotechnic device used to generate colored smoke set dry brush ablaze on an unseasonably warm day, Cal Fire’s San Bernardino Unit said.
Charles Morton, 39, a U.S. Forest Service hotshot crew boss, died fighting the fire in the San Gorgonio Wilderness on Sept. 17 when flames burned over him. The fire burned 22,680 acres, destroyed five homes and damaged four others.
Residents of Mountain Home Village, Forest Falls, Angelus Oaks, Seven Oaks and Barton Flats were evacuated. The fire also burned in Cherry Valley in Riverside County.
