Man receives 11.5 years for Ehrenberg fires

Eldon Ray Campbell, 26, of Ehrenberg, has been sentenced to 11.5 years in prison for his role in setting fires to unoccupied structures and wildlands in the Ehrenberg area. Judge Michael Burke in La Paz County Superior Court in Parker handed the sentence down Feb. 1.

Campbell was one of six persons who allegedly set fires in the Ehrenberg area. The others were Jacob Hicks, James Seaton, Joshua Hall, Joseph Hall and Fernando Lizarraga. Seaton, Hall, Hall and Lizarraga were firefighters with the Ehrenberg Volunteer Fire Department. They allegedly set the fires as a means of creating work for themselves.

Campbell was initially arrested Jan. 13. A plea agreement was in place and he was on release awaiting sentencing when he was arrested a second time Sept. 3 and charged with setting more fires while on release.

County Attorney Sam Vederman withdrew the plea agreement from the first arrest. Under a new plea agreement reached Jan. 4, Campbell pleaded guilty to one count of arson of a structure or property and burning of wildlands. The first count applied to his first arrest, while the second one applied to his later arrest.

All other charges against Campbell were dismissed.

At Campbell's sentencing, his attorney, Janet Sorrell of the La Paz County Public Defender's Office, asked Burke for leniency. She asked Burke to consider his age, the fact that he confessed to the crimes, and that he cooperated with law enforcement. She said there was a chance he could get the help he needed and he was young enough that he could repay his debt.

Vederman acknowledged Campbell confessed and cooperated with the authorities. However, he said this was the only positive thing to come out of this case. He said what Campbell did was dangerous and could have led to a disaster. He said Campbell should not receive a mitigated sentence.

In handing down his sentence, Burke said Campbell's confession and cooperation with authorities were mitigating factors on the first count, and he sentenced him to four years in prison.

On the second count, Burke said he saw no such mitigating factors and sentenced him to 7.5 years, the presumptive sentence for the charge. He noted Campbell was on release from his first arrest.

"You had a plea agreement in place," Burke said to Campbell. "You might have gotten just probation."

Due to the nature and the timing of the incidents, Burke said the sentences would be served consecutively.

The matter of restitution remained unresolved as Sorrell and Vederman had conflicting reports on the amount. A restitution hearing was set for 2:30 p.m. May 3.

The original charges covered fires that dated back to January 2008. La Paz County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Linc Gilbert said the department began to investigate the fires after they received tips from the community and because there appeared to be too many fires for a community the size of Ehrenberg.

The second set of charges dates back to June 2009, and covers four structure fires, two brush fires, and two burglaries. A second defendant in the case, Hicks, was also arrested for setting more fires. The plea agreement in his case was also withdrawn.

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