 John Thomas Christiana, has recently been charged with felony arson of a building or structure on forest land by Inyo County prosecutors, possibly related to the fire that destroyed the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Schulman Grove Visitor’s Center on Sept. 4, 2008. By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
4-14-2009 Additional charges have been filed by both Inyo and Mono counties against the suspect associated with a rash of vandalism, including broken vehicle windows at area trailheads, in the late summer of 2008.
John Thomas Christiana was initially arrested in September 2008 on several felony charges allegedly tied to vehicle vandalism and burglary and is in Inyo County Jail awaiting a competency hearing related to those charges on April 16.
On Monday, Inyo County Superior Court confirmed that on April 10, Christiana was additionally charged with Penal Code infraction 451(c), felony arson of a structure or property on Forest Service land.
This will be added to the list of felonies already charged against him; they include auto theft, grand theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, vandalism, possession of a firearm and a lone misdemeanor charge of carrying a loaded firearm.
 John Thomas Christiana Numerous phone calls on Friday and Monday to the Inyo County District Attorney’s offices in Bishop and Independence, as well as the county’s courts, were not returned to confirm reports that the arson charges are directly related to the Schulman Grove Visitor’s Center fire, or to provide any other details concerning the charges.
The Inyo National Forest is reporting that the investigation into the visitor center fire is still ongoing.
Mono County District Attorney George Booth said that his office charged Christiana with three felonies on March 27. The charges include two counts of first degree burglary, and one count of first degree vandalism, all associated with the White Mountain Research Station Summit Laboratory.
The laboratory was broken into sometime between Aug. 3 and Aug. 7, 2008. According to research station employees, the small lab had all of its windows busted out, light bulbs broken and cabinet doors ripped off hinges.  Mono County charged Christiana on March 27, 2009, with felony vandalism and two counts of felony burglary directly related to the malicious damage to the White Mountain Research Station Summit Laboratory (below) perpetrated in August 2008. File photos
The laboratory sits atop 14,250-foot White Mountain peak, the fourth highest altitude research facility on the planet.
Christiana was arrested in Lone Pine on Sept. 7, after sheriff’s deputies detected the distinct odor of gasoline near the Lone Pine High School with him discovered nearby.
His vehicle was found to be reported stolen and full of gasoline containers. The gas containers are what apparently led to speculation that Christiana may be linked to the visitor center fire, which broke out under suspicious circumstances on Sept. 4 and was completely destroyed.
Christiana has not yet been arraigned on the new arson charges, but is scheduled to appear in court for a competency hearing on Thursday in Independence.
The hearing is being held to determine whether Christiana is mentally competent to stand trial for the felony charges filed against him after his Sept. 7 arrest.
|
