Homeless man admits to setting 20,000-acre wildfire near Banning in 2013
A 58-year-old transient who ignited the 2013 Silver Fire near Banning, which blackened more than 20,000 acres and injured multiple people, pleaded guilty today to over a dozen felony charges and was immediately sentenced to 16 years in state prison.
During a hearing at the Banning Justice Center, Stephen Patrick Medlock admitted 14 counts of burning an inhabited structure. Medlock had originally been charged with 37 arson-related allegations.
It was unclear Wednesday whether the defendant pled directly to the court, or had reached a negotiated plea with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez accepted Medlock's plea and imposed the stipulated sentence, granting him credit for time served and a double credit required under state law to reduce prison overcrowding. The combined credits totaled almost 12 years, effectively reducing the defendant's sentence to about four years.
Medlock was arrested in San Bernardino County in 2018 following an extensive investigation by Cal Fire arson personnel and Riverside County sheriff's detectives.
The Silver Fire erupted on Aug. 7, 2013, sweeping through the foothills and mountains south of Banning deep into the San Bernardino National Forest.
Investigators said Medlock used a Bic-style lighter to ignite the blaze. He told sheriff's detectives the fire began accidentally when he laid the lighter down in the brush and it malfunctioned, according to court papers.
The fire charred 20,292 acres and damaged roughly 60 structures in the Poppet Flats neighborhood. A mountain biker was seriously burned shortly after the fire broke out, and 12 firefighters suffered various minor to moderate injuries trying to contain the wildland blaze over a six-day period.
Evacuations were implemented in Poppet Flats, Mt. Edna, Silent Valley and Twin Pines during the height of the fire. The north half of Highway 243, from Twin Pines to Banning, was closed for more than a week as a public safety precaution.
Medlock had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
