Corral Fire Suspects Get Yet Another Delay

• Burnouts Express Increased Frustration with System

BY ANNE SOBLE

Legal maneuverings by the defense have resulted in yet another lengthy delay before the residents who endured the Corral Canyon wildfire of 2007 that claimed 53 homes and dozens of other structures will have the possibility of a legal reckoning.
Once again, almost a dozen residents took time on Tuesday to make the trek to the Van Nuys Superior Courthouse only to see the attorneys for two of the defendants, Brian David Anderson, 24, and William Thomas Coppock, 25, successfully delay the motion to dismiss to Sept. 15.
The pair are regarded by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office as the more culpable of five men charged with creating conditions that led to the Santa Ana-driven blaze that devastated some 5000 acres and led to the call for, if not the actual execution of, widespread evacuations in central and western Malibu that blustery Nov. 24.
Although an Oct. 4 trial date for Anderson and Coppock, who are both from Los Angeles, is still on the books, the ongoing series of delays make it increasingly likely that that date will also be subject to change.
The two Culver City men, Eric Matthew Ullman, 20, and Dean Lavorante, 21, charged with three counts related to starting the 2007 Corral wildfire, but deemed relatively less culpable because they left the cave at the top of Corral before the camp fire they had built there flared out of control, are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 15.
Only the case against the third of the Los Angeles suspects, Brian David Franks, 28, has already been concluded with a plea bargain sentence of probation and community service that requires him to testify against Anderson and Coppock.
Burnouts and their neighbors in Corral Canyon have been present at most of the court hearings and continue to express impatience with delays extending proceedings to almost two years after the fire occurred.
Although some of these residents are reluctant to state their concerns publicly, they say that they believe that defense attorney tactics are designed to discourage them from having a part in the proceedings.
One resident said he is concerned that the second anniversary of the fire will come and go and the cases will still be pending.