AFFIDAVIT

I, Wayne M. Nomi, being duly sworn, declare and state as

follows:

I. INTRODUCTION
1. I am a Special Agent (“SA”) with the United States

Forest Service (“USFS”), and have been so employed since January

2009. Prior to this assignment, I was employed as a Special

Agent with the United States Department of Transportation,

Office of the Inspector General, for approximately seven years,

and as a Special Agent with the Department of Veterans Affairs,

Office of the Inspector General, for approximately five years.

2. This affidavit is submitted in support of a criminal

complaint charging JONATHAN CARL JARRELL, CLIFFORD EUGENE HENRY,

JR., and STEVEN ROBERT AGUIRRE with the felony offense of

Unlawfully Setting Timber Afire and Aiding, Abetting, and

Causing Timber to be Unlawfully Set Afire, in violation of Title

18, United States Code, Sections 1855 and 2. See charging

language incorporated herein as Attachment A.

3. The facts set forth in this affidavit are based upon

my personal observations, my training and experience, and

information obtained from various law enforcement personnel and

witnesses. This affidavit is intended to show merely that there

is sufficient probable cause for the specific crime charged and

does not purport to set forth all of my knowledge of or

investigation into this matter. Unless specifically indicated

otherwise, all conversations and statements described in this

affidavit are related in substance and in part only.

 II. STATEMENT OF PROBABLE CAUSE
4. On or about January 16, 2014, a wildfire was reported

to be burning in the Angeles National Forest and surrounding

public and private lands near Glendora, California, within the

County of Los Angeles.

5. The United States Forest Service and the Los Angeles

County Fire Department initiated the fire suppression efforts

and established an incident command system. The wildfire was

named the Colby Fire.

6. I responded to the Colby Fire as the lead criminal

investigator and fire investigator at approximately 7:30 a.m. on

January 16, 2014.

7. As of the evening of January 16, 2014, the Colby Fire

had destroyed over 1,700 acres of federal, state, local, and

private lands. The fire had also destroyed five residences,

damaged 17 additional structures, and resulted in injuries to

one civilian and two fire fighters.

8. On or about January 17, 2014, I reviewed an incident

report prepared by Officer Nancy Miranda of the Glendora Police

Department. From my review of the report, I have learned the

following information:

a. At approximately 5:46 a.m. that morning, Officer

Miranda was dispatched to the area of Loraine Avenue and Saga

Street in the City of Glendora to begin evacuating residents in

the area;

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 b. Near Mullaghboy Road and Kilaleck Lane, an

unknown male flagged Officer Miranda down and told her, “there

are two guys running in the wash.”

c. Officer Miranda responded to the location near

851 East Palm Avenue and observed CLIFFORD EUGENE HENRY, JR.

(“defendant HENRY, JR.”) and STEVEN ROBERT AGUIRRE (“defendant

AGUIRRE”) running southbound in the wash/drainage leading from

the Colby Fire. She ordered the two men to stop running and to

approach her location.

d. Officer Miranda observed that both defendants

were wearing backpacks and that their clothes were dirty and

disheveled. She noted that their shoes were full of wet mud.

e. Officer Miranda noticed that defendant AGUIRRE

strongly smelled of smoke and he had burnt ashes on his

clothing. Officer Miranda asked him if he was running from the

fire, and observed that he appeared to be nervous. He stated

that they were camping in the hills, had woken up, and observed

the hills to be on fire. Defendant AGUIRRE stated that they ran

because they were afraid of the fire. When Officer Miranda

asked him why he was running in the wash and not in the street,

defendant AGUIRRE looked down and did not answer the question.

f. Officer Miranda then asked defendant HENRY, JR.

where he and defendant AGUIRRE were running from. He stated

that they were camping in the foothills and woke up to the

foothills on fire. He insisted that they did not start the

fire.

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 g. Officer Miranda also noticed that defendant

HENRY, JR. smelled of smoke and that he had burnt ashes on his

clothing. He appeared to be very nervous and repeatedly stated

that they did not start the fire.

h. Defendant AGUIRRE was detained and arrested for

possession of stolen credit card (subsequently determined to

belong to co-defendant JONATHAN CARL JARRELL).

i. Defendant HENRY, JR. was detained and arrested

for state violations related to causing a forest fire.

9. On or about January 17, 2014, I reviewed an incident

report prepared by Officer Zachary Houser of the Glendora Police

Department. From my review of the report, I have learned the

following information:

a. On January 16, 2014, Officer Houser spoke to

United States Forest Service Fire Prevention Technician (“FPT”)

Rick Szlauko. FPT Szlauko told Officer Houser that at

approximately 7:30 a.m. on January 16, 2014, he was driving up

Glendora Mountain Road (“GMR”) when he saw defendant JONATHAN

CARL JARRELL (“defendant JARRELL”) in an area where the Colby

Trail intersects the GMR. Because of defendant JARRELL’s

proximity to the origin of the Colby Fire, FPT Szlauko suspected

that he was involved in the fire start. Due to the fire danger,

FPT Szlauko offered defendant JARRELL a ride out of the area.

Defendant JARRELL was later detained and arrested as a suspect

in the start of the Colby Fire.

10. On or about January 17 and 18, 2014, I listened to

recorded interviews of defendants HENRY, JR., AGUIRRE, and

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JARRELL that were conducted by the Los Angeles County Fire

Department, Arson Investigations Unit (“LACFD/AIU”), and

Glendora Police Department (“GPD”). All three defendants were

in the custody of GPD at the time of the interviews. The

interviews took place at the GPD Station on January 16, 2014,

and were conducted by LACFD/AIU Investigator John Quiroz and GPD

Detective Matt Fenner. I learned the following relevant

information from listening to the interviews:

Interview #1 of defendant CLIFFORD HENRY, JR.

a. After being read his Miranda Warnings, defendant

HENRY, JR. consented to being interviewed.

b. Defendant HENRY, JR. denied starting the fire.

c. Defendant HENRY, JR. then stated that it could

have been his marijuana smoking that started the fire and

explained that the fire was about six feet away from him when he

woke up.

d. Defendant HENRY, JR. said that he knew it was

dangerous to have a fire in dry grass and he has been camping

since he was a child.

e. Defendant HENRY, JR. denied having any warming or

campfires and denied having knowledge of what started the Colby

Fire.

f. Defendant HENRY, JR. stated that it has been dry

and the whole ground cover was dead grass.

Interview #1 of defendant STEVEN AGUIRRE

g. After being read his Miranda Warnings, Aguirre

consented to being interviewed.

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 h. Defendant AGUIRRE and JARRELL met HENRY, JR.

after coming from Los Angeles to the Glendora area to visit

HENRY, JR.

11. Defendant AGUIRRE, HENRY, JR., and JARRELL left the

trailhead at approximately 8:00 PM on January 15, 2014. They

found a flat spot and stopped hiking around 10:00 p.m.

a. Defendant AGUIRRE initially denied that the three

men had started a warming fire that night.

b. Defendant AGUIRRE stated that during the night he

woke up to smoke a cigarette with HENRY, JR. At about that

time, in the distance, he noticed a fire “quite a distance

away”. Defendant AGUIRRE explained that he grabbed his

belongings and headed downhill.

c. Defendant AGUIRRE finally stated he was going to

be honest. He stated that he wasn’t planning to go to the spot

where they camped out. HENRY, JR. knew the location and

initiated the discussions to go camping. They hiked up the

mountain, starting about 8:30 p.m. and arrived around 10:30 p.m.

After deciding to camp, they made a little warming fire. They

put rocks around it and built a little campfire. They put the

campfire out by putting dirt over the campfire and went to

sleep. Defendant AGUIRRE later woke-up and noticed that it was

windy, with gusts intense enough to blow away his blanket.

HENRY, JR. was already awake and it was starting to get really

cold around 6:00 a.m. (maybe as early as 4:00 a.m.). HENRY, JR.

and AGUIRRE decided to make another campfire. HENRY, JR. was

laying on the ground and defendant AGUIRRE was trying to put

6
some small twigs in the campfire to keep the campfire burning.

JARRELL then took some crumbled paper and put several sheets in

the campfire. HENRY, JR. told JARRELL sarcastically “you might

as well put the whole thing in there.” JARRELL then ripped the

plastic cover off and threw the notebook into the campfire. The

paper caught on fire and a gust of wind blew a piece of burning

paper into a bush. HENRY, JR. said they had to leave.

d. Defendant AGUIRRE admitted that the fire did not

start from HENRY, JR. smoking cigarettes or marijuana, but

rather, it started when the wind blew a piece of burning paper

from their campfire into a bush.

Interview #1 of Defendant JONATHAN JARRELL

e. After being read his Miranda Warnings, defendant

JARRELL consented to being interviewed.

f. Defendant JARRELL stated that he and AGUIRRE live

on the streets in Los Angeles. HENRY, JR. lives with his aunt

in the area where the fire occurred.

g. Defendant JARRELL and AGUIRRE decided to visit

HENRY, JR. and go to the mountains.

h. Since he and AGUIRRE were homeless and really

didn’t have anywhere particular to go, they decided to go hike

with HENRY, JR. They hiked for about one or two hours before

stopping.

i. They stopped and had a campfire. Defendant

JARRELL explained that on Thursday (January 16, 2014) morning, a

huge gust of wind came and “that’s when it all happened.”

Defendant JARRELL, AGUIRRE, and HENRY, JR. tried to put the fire

7
out but were not successful. Defendant JARRELL stated that he

tried to call 911 but there was no cell phone reception and he

couldn’t make the call.

j. Defendant JARRELL stated that he was told by

“some other people up there” that it was “okay” to have a

campfire. These people reportedly told defendant JARRELL that

they have been having campfires up there for a long time. These

people were located “all the way at the top” (of the mountain).

k. Defendant JARRELL said that their first campfire

went off without incident.

l. Sometime between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.,

Defendant JARRELL woke-up and noticed that the weather was cold

and windy. He recalled seeing HENRY, JR. and AGUIRRE collecting

wood sticks for the campfire. Defendant JARRELL stated that

HENRY, JR. and AGUIRRE lit the second campfire with a lighter.

m. They were trying to keep the second campfire

going by putting wood collected from nearby into the campfire.

AGUIRRE then asked defendant JARRELL if he had any paper.

Defendant JARRELL told AGUIRRE that he had a notebook and

AGUIRRE told him to use that. HENRY, JR. then told JARRELL to

take the plastic off his notebook before putting it in the fire.

n. Defendant JARRELL then took the plastic cover

off the notebook and put the paper notebook into the campfire.

Defendant JARRELL said a gust of wind came out of nowhere and

blew the burning paper into a bush. All three men got up and

tried to stomp out the bush that was on fire.

o. The three men then ran away from the fire.

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 Interview #2 of Defendant CLIFFORD HENRY, JR.
p. Defendant HENRY, JR. was asked if he recalled his

earlier Miranda warnings, to which he answered in the

affirmative.

q. Defendant HENRY, JR. stated that he was not going

to cover for anyone anymore.

r. Defendant HENRY, JR. admitted that the three men

had a campfire earlier in the night and had put it out. There

was no wind during the first campfire.

s. Defendant HENRY, JR. admitted that sometime

before sunrise, they started up a second campfire. He denied

starting the second campfire, stated that JARRELL or AGUIRRE

started the second campfire. Defendant HENRY, JR. said he heard

a ripping sound and a few minutes later, “Oh Shit. There’s a

fucking bush on fire […].”

t. Defendant HENRY, JR. said he then got up and

tried to help AGUIRRE and JARRELL stomp out the fire.

u. Defendant HENRY, JR. explained that before the

fire escaped, he had told JARRELL to rip out a couple of pages

from his notebook and place the paper into the second campfire.

Defendant HENRY, JR. denied telling JARRELL to put the whole

notebook in the campfire, but admitted that JARRELL did throw

the whole notebook into the campfire.

v. Defendant HENRY, JR. stated that they almost

managed to put the escaped fire out, but gusts of wind made it

larger.

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 w. Defendant HENRY, JR. acknowledged the reckless

nature of putting paper into the campfire. He also acknowledged

the dangers of having a campfire without water to put it out,

without having the right means to contain the campfire, having

the campfire in the wrong weather conditions, and basically

doing several stupid little things.

x. Defendant HENRY, JR. admitted that he thought

putting paper in the campfire was not a good idea

y. With respect to the first campfire, defendant

HENRY, JR. admitted he started making the rock ring and, using

small twigs, lit the campfire with his lighter.

z. Defendant HENRY, JR. stated that it was crazy to

have a campfire where such dry grass and dry wood was on the

ground.

Interview #2 of Defendant JONATHAN JARRELL

aa. Defendant JARRELL acknowledged that he recalled

and understood the Miranda warning that had been given to him

earlier and did not want the warnings re-read to him. He

consented to being interviewed again.

bb. Defendant JARRELL stated that he felt like he was

going to die during the Colby Fire.

cc. Defendant JARRELL denied knowing anything about

fire and starting fires.

dd. Defendant JARRELL stated that he saw other people

with a campfire, but wasn’t sure if campfires were allowed

because they (JARRELL, AGUIRRE, and HENRY, JR.) were not

actually in a campground.

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 ee. Defendant JARRELL did not see any signs about

fire restrictions.

ff. Defendant JARRELL acknowledged that California

weather had been warm and with minimal rains.

gg. Defendant JARRELL stated that building the rock

ring for the campfire was HENRY, JR.’s idea to prevent the

campfire from getting out of control.

Interview #2 of Defendant STEVEN AGUIRRE

hh. Defendant AGUIRRE was interviewed a second time

by GPD Detective Fenner and LACFD/AIU Investigator Quiroz.

Because the second interview was a continuation of the first

interview, he was not re-Mirandized.

ii. Defendant AGUIRRE stated you don’t have to be an

avid outdoorsman to know that fire is dangerous.

jj. During the evening of January 15, 2014, HENRY,

JR. told him that they needed to get high enough up the Colby

Trial so that people could not see them and then they could have

a small warming fire.

kk. Defendant AGUIRRE acknowledged being in forest

areas in the past and seeing signs regarding brush fire warnings

during dry periods.

ll. Defendant AGUIRRE acknowledged that it had not

rained lately, and that HENRY, JR. had mentioned to him that

because it had not rained in a while it was important to keep

the fire small, but having fun prevailed.

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 mm. Defendant AGUIRRE stated that HENRY, JR. had

mentioned that the grass was real dry and to make sure the

embers from the fire didn’t fly out into the bushes.

nn. Defendant AGUIRRE is familiar with the term “Red

Flag Warnings” and knows it refers to brush fire warnings.

oo. Defendant AGUIRRE admitted that they knew they

weren’t supposed to have a campfire, but no one opposed having

one.

pp. Defendant AGUIRRE admitted to placing wood into

the second campfire.

Interview #3 of Defendant CLIFFOR HENRY, JR.

qq. Defendant HENRY, JR. was interviewed a third time

by GPD Detective Fenner and LACFD/AIU Investigator Quiroz.

Because the third interview was a continuation of the first

interview and second interviews, he was not re-Mirandized.

rr. Defendant HENRY, JR. admitted that he had seen

signs in California about not having fires.

ss. Defendant HENRY, JR. acknowledged that it was his

idea to build the fire ring.

Interview #3 of Defendant JONATHAN JARRELL

tt. Defendant JARRELL was interviewed a third time by

GPD Detective Fenner and LACFD/AIU Investigator Quiroz. He did

not rescind his earlier consent to being interviewed after being

advised of his Miranda rights during his first and second

interviews.

uu. Defendant JARRELL did not do anything for the

fire except throw paper into the second campfire.

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 vv. Defendant JARRELL explained that HENRY, JR. and

AGUIRRE wanted to have a campfire and that he did not want to be

there. He was “egged on” by HENRY, JR. to keep going up the

hiking trail. He would have left when the first campfire was

burning, but he did not know the way off the mountain.

ww. Defendant JARRELL stated that HENRY, JR. started

both fires.

xx. Defendant JARRELL recanted his earlier story

about meeting a couple having a campfire along the trail that

said it was “okay” to have campfires along the trail. He stated

that he lied because he was afraid and was stressing out in

jail.

yy. Defendant JARRELL stated that with respect to the

second campfire, they were all present and started making the

fire. The weather was cold and he just wanted to warm up. A

notebook got put in the fire and an ember blew out of the ring

due to a gust of wind. The ember supposedly started the fire

zz. Defendant JARRELL stated that he did not think

the fire could get so out of control.

Interview #3 of Defendant STEVEN AGUIRRE

12. On or about January 18, 2014, I interviewed defendant

AGUIRRE at the Glendora Police Station. Prior to the interview,

I provided defendant AGUIRRE with verbal and written Miranda

warnings. He waived his Miranda rights, consented to being

interviewed by me, and provided me with the following relevant

information:

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 a. During the evening of January 15, 2014, he and

JARRELL followed HENRY, JR. to the trailhead. He noticed that

the trail had various warning signs, but did not recall any fire

warning signs. There were no gates or signs to indicate the

trail was private or otherwise precluded from public use.

b. HENRY, JR. wanted to make sure they hiked high

enough up the trail to avoid detection of their campfire.

c. HENRY, JR. arrived at the spot they planned to

camp first, and started to build a fire ring with rocks. HENRY,

JR. knew that if an ember was emitted from their fire,

everything would burn up because it was dry in the mountains.

HENRY, JR. said that they really needed to shelter their fire.

d. HENRY, JR. said the fire ring was too small, so

defendant AGUIRRE went to get more rocks.

Interview #4 of Defendant JONATHAN JARRELL

13. On or about January 19, 2014, I interviewed defendant

JONATHAN JARRELL at the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s

Department, Men’s Central Jail. Prior to the interview,

defendant JARRELL was read and provided written Miranda

warnings. He waived his Miranda rights and consented to be

interviewed by me. During the interview, he provided me with

the following relevant information:

a. It was HENRY, JR.’s idea for them to go hiking

and spend the night in the mountains. They went to the Cobly

Trailhead at the end of Lorraine Avenue.

b. He saw signs at the trailhead, but did not see

any warnings prohibiting fires.

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 c. He believed the trail to be a public trail, but

did not believe the trail to be maintained by the federal

government.

d. He did not think having a campfire was a good

idea and did not know if they were even allowed on the trail.

e. HENRY, JR. told him that it was allowable to have

a campfire, and that he had started them along the trail on

prior occasions.

f. Defendant JARRELL told me that his contribution

to the first campfire was to bring two rocks to build the fire

ring. AGUIRRE and HENRY, JR. collected most of the wood and

burnable items.

g. HENRY, JR. told him that to have a campfire, they

had to be far up the trail and away from the homes. He

explained that this was not due to potential detection by the

police, but rather as a safety buffer should something happen

(with the fire).

Interview #4 of Defendant CLIFFORD HENRY, JR.

14. On January 17, 2014, I interviewed defendant CLIFFORD

HENRY, JR. at the Glendora Police Department. Prior to the

interview, he was read and provided written Miranda warnings,

which he waived. He consented to the interview, and provided me

with the following relevant information:

a. He was not aware if the Colby Trail was in the

national forest or not, but admitted that it could be.

b. He stated that he did not want the fire, and

explained that starting a fire was “fucking dumb.”

15
 c. He believed the Colby Trail was a public trail

maintained by the city (of Glendora).

d. He stated that they had to go high up the trail

to hide their campfire to prevent the police from coming. He

believed that if they were caught with the campfire, they would

be fined or kicked out of the area since it was illegal to have

a campfire there.

e. He told AGUIRRE and JARRELL the size and type of

wood they needed to burn to prevent embers from blowing out of

the pit.

15. On or about January 16, 2014, after being advised of

his Miranda rights, waiving them, and agreeing to talk with GPD

officers and LACFD/AIU investigators, defendant CLIFFORD HENRY,

JR. was escorted back to the Colby Trail and showed the officers

the precise location where he, AGUIRRE, and JARRELL built the

fire ring and started the two campfires on the evening of

January 15 and morning of January 16, 2014.

16. I am aware that United States Forest Service Fire

Investigator Christopher Fry was also present at that location,

conducting a wildland fire origin and cause determination, when

defendant CLIFFORD HENRY, JR. showed the officers the location

of the fire ring from which the wildland fire started.

17. Over the past few days, I have spoken extensively with

Investigator Fry regarding his findings. I have also reviewed

his Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Supplemental Incident Report.

As a result, I am aware that Investigator Fry has determined the

following:

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 a. The origin of the wildland fire was at a point

near the fire ring built by defendants HENRY, JR., AGUIRRE, and

JARRELL.

b. The cause of the wildland fire was embers from

the campfire that set dry grass adjacent to the campfire ring

afire.

c. Both the campfire ring and the origin of the

wildland fire are clearly located on federal lands within the

Angeles National Forest.

18. Based upon my training, experience, and review of the

applicable Forest Service regulations, I am aware that the two

campfires started by defendants HENRY, JR., AGUIRRE, and JARRELL

on the evening of January 15, 2014, and the morning of January

16, 2014, were constructed, maintained, and started without the

authority of the United States Forest Service, and were

therefore illegal fires in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1855.

19. Specifically, I am aware that Pacific Southwest

Regional Order 91-1 prohibits wood and charcoal fires to be

built, maintained, or attended outside a developed recreation

site. The location where the defendants built, maintained, and

attended the campfire that caused the Colby Fire is not within

any developed recreation site. A developed recreation site

typically consists of official campground and picnic areas

constructed and maintained by the United States Forest Service.

As a result, any wood or charcoal fire built, maintained, or

attended in that location is an illegal fire, in violation of

applicable Forest Service regulations and 18 U.S.C. §1855.

17
 III. CONCLUSION
20. For all the reasons described above, there is probable

cause to believe that on or about January 16, 2014, JONATHAN

CARL JARRELL, CLIFFORD EUGENE HENRY, JR., and STEVEN ROBERT

AGUIRRE did Unlawfully Set Timber Afire and did Aid, Abet, and

Cause Timber to be Unlawfully Set Afire, in violation of Title

18, United States Code, Sections 1855 and 2.

Wayne M. Nomi, Special Agent

United States Forest Service

Subscribed to and sworn before me

this ____ day of January, 2014.

HONORABLE CHARLES F. EICK

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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 ATTACHMENT A
Statement of the Charges

[18 U.S.C. § 1855, 2]

On or about January 16, 2014, in Los Angeles County, within

the Central District of California, defendants JONATHAN CARL

JARRELL, CLIFFORD EUGENE HENRY, JR., and STEVEN ROBERT AGUIRRE

did willfully and without authority set on fire timber,

underbrush, grass and other inflammable material upon lands

owned by the United States within the Angeles National Forest,

namely, by starting an unauthorized campfire.

* * * * *

On or about January 16, 2014, in Los Angeles County, within

the Central District of California, defendants JONATHAN CARL

JARRELL, CLIFFORD EUGENE HENRY, JR., and STEVEN ROBERT AGUIRRE,

did knowingly and willfully aid, abet, counsel, command, induce,

procure, and cause the commission of the offense alleged above.