PARKER — Tina Christenson describes her son Jacob as a normal kid who likes to play video games and mess around with his friends. And, yes, he did experiment with fire once, but she doesn’t believe he should be charged with a felony for what he did when he was 10.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Christenson said. “Criminal mischief and second-degree arson are the charges.”
Last May 9, Jacob and an older friend admitted they had found a lighter and set a piece of paper on fire for fun. That paper caught some bushes on fire, which then ignited the side of a townhome. In the end, one house was severely damaged and an adjacent townhome sustained some damage as well, totaling about $200,000 in destruction.
The civil matters are one thing, and Christenson understands her son’s culpability. But she says the criminal felony charges are overkill, especially the arson charge.
“Because I know it means you knowingly set fire to a building,” Christenson said.
9News legal analyst Scott Robinson said the district attorney’s office is well within the law to prosecute.
“It may have been completely an accident, but our judicial system wants to make sure that fire-starting by accident does not turn into fire-starting on purpose,” he said.
Robinson said, if convicted, the boy could spend up to two years in the juvenile system with an emphasis on treatment over confinement.
“At age 10, what the court is going to be concerned with is getting this young man counseling,” he said.
Christenson says her son feels bad about the whole thing and has vowed never to play with fire again.
“I’m not opposed to punishment for him as long as it’s appropriate,” Christenson said.
But a victim of the fire says the criminal system isn’t doing enough. Laura Hile says she lost more than $23,000 and that the ordeal of rebuilding her home has been a nightmare. Plus, she says, every time she attends a court appearance, she loses pay from work.
“I didn’t even get an apology,” Hile said. “I think the charges should be stronger, the amount that I’ve been put out.”
Jacob is set to go on trial Feb. 17.
