Arson Suspect Of New Year’s Day Fire In Castaic Faces Preliminary Hearing

Posted by: KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 in Court January 16, 2014 - 1:37 pm 0 184 Views

The woman charged with arson after a Castaic home was set ablaze on New Year’s Day will face a preliminary hearing Jan. 30, said Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office.

The fire occurred in the 31200 block of Quail Valley Road around 5:30 p.m., according to a criminal complaint.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department put out the fire in about 10 minutes, and officers estimated the damage at around $200,000, although this figure can change, said Inspector Tony Akins.

Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking Santa Clarita news alerts delivered right to your inbox.

Kristi Lynn Henderson, 49, was charged with arson, although the cause of the fire has not been released, and pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Jan. 3.

“A felony was committed by Kristi Lynn Henderson, who did willfully, unlawfully, and maliciously set fire to and burn and cause to be burned an inhabited structure and inhabited property,” read the felony complaint by the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested Henderson about 30 minutes after the fire was extinguished, according to official records.

A preliminary hearing determines if a person charged with a felony should face trial based on if there is substantial evidence that the person committed the crime.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled to take place in Department S in San Fernando, according to Sheriff’s Department arrest records.

Henderson is being held in lieu of $45,000 bail at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.