Desert Hot Springs man dies while out of custody, arson charges dropped
A man who was facing felony charges for allegedly setting fire to his Desert Hot Springs home while his roommate was inside the residence died while out of custody awaiting trial, prosecutors confirmed today.
Jerome Edward Stanton died May 25, four days after his 69th birthday, from an undisclosed illness, according to a coroner’s letter filed with the court.
Read the original story: Man arrested for arson & attempted murder after house fire in DHS
Stanton was arrested for the Feb. 25, 2016, fire at. Firefighters contained the flames in under an hour.
Stanton was initially charged with attempted murder for allegedly setting fire to his home in the 13300 block of Mountain Top Court on Feb. 25, 2016, while his roommate was inside. Steven Webb climbed out of a window to escape the blaze and suffered minor injuries.
Stanton was arrested later that day following an investigation by police and fire investigators.
The attempted murder charge was later dismissed, but he had still been set to stand trial on arson and assault with a deadly weapon charges, which were formally dropped Friday.
