Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Youth admits he set huge fire
Teen sentenced to juvenile correctional facility; won't be tried as adult
By FRANK CURRERI
REVIEW-JOURNAL
A 17-year-old admitted Monday to igniting one of the largest fires in Southern Nevada history but will not be tried as an adult for the crime.
With his mother seated beside him, Tim McCleary pleaded guilty in Juvenile Court to nine counts of first-degree arson.
The charges stemmed from a massive blaze last September that destroyed a Henderson apartment complex under construction and damaged at least eight nearby homes. It took a small army of firefighters to quash the Sept. 4 inferno, but not before it scorched an estimated $10 million in property.
"I lit (a cigarette box) on fire and I threw it against a piece of wood and it lit the rest of it," McCleary, who was shackled and handcuffed, told Judge William Voy. "We were gonna walk back and we saw how big it was and we kept running."
Prosecutor Jonathan VanBoskerck said McCleary may not have intended so much destruction, but such an outcome was foreseeable given his actions. He also offered a possible motive for the blaze.
"I believe this young man indicated he wanted to see the firefighters come and put out the fire," VanBoskerck said.
In fact, McCleary was part of the crowd that gathered along Boulder Highway to watch the raging spectacle. But his attorney, J.D. Evans, challenged VanBoskerck's assertion and said McCleary never intended such widespread damage.
McCleary could have been tried as an adult for his actions, although a court-appointed psychiatrist determined he has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old. VanBoskerck said that was one of the reasons prosecutors did not push for McCleary to be tried as an adult.
McCleary showed no emotion as Voy explained his sentence. He will be housed in a juvenile correctional facility, but Voy did not specify a sentence length. The average juvenile inmate in Nevada spends between six and nine months in confinement, but their tenure can be shortened for good behavior or prolonged for misbehavior.
McCleary was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
"I want you to understand that you got a pretty favorable negotiation," Voy told McCleary. "This is probably the one break you'll have in your life. All the other luck that an individual can have in life -- you've used it all up on this one."
