A defense attorney for the man accused of igniting the massive 2018 Holy fire is seeking to have the Orange County District Attorney’s Office removed from the case — arguing that Todd Spitzer’s comments while successfully running to head the agency prejudiced the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
The motion comes as the criminal case against Forrest Clark — accused of the 2018 blaze started near Trabuco Canyon in the Cleveland National Forest that burned 23,000 acres in Orange and Riverside counties and destroyed a dozen cabins — was nearing a jury trial.
Alternate Defender Jason Phlaum, who is representing Clark, argued in a written motion that Spitzer “politically weaponized the case against Mr. Clark from its inception.”
At the time of the wildfire and Clark’s arrest, Spitzer was running for DA against incumbent Tony Rackauckas while serving as a county supervisor representing where the blaze broke out.
The defense attorney cited a press conference when Spitzer described Clark as a “monster,” asked rhetorically what kind of person would ignite a fire in such warm, dry and windy conditions, and mentioned the irony of Clark’s first name given the destruction caused by the flames.
The defense attorney also cited a Fox 11 Los Angeles segment when Spitzer apparently indicated that he believed Clark should be considered for the death penalty, as opposed to the maximum-life-without-the-possibility-of-parole sentence that Rackauckas’ representatives had indicated Clark was facing.
“Mr. Spitzer tried to portray himself as sounding tougher than tough, tougher than Mr. Rackauckas, and committing himself to positions in open cases,” Phlaum told Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick Donahue during a hearing on Monday.
The defense attorney also alleged that Spitzer’s public comments may have dissuaded investigators from pursuing a different Canyon resident as an alternate arson suspect.
The defense opposes both the Orange County…
Read the full article here
