Crime & Safety
Arsonist in Custody for Setting 'Numerous' Fires on Indian Reservation
Joseph Buck Auclair, 29, of Thermal, is charged with nine counts of arson — all felony.
A Thermal man is behind bars for allegedly setting "numerous" fires on the Torres-Martinez Indian reservation, the Riverside County Fire Department revealed Tuesday.
Fire investigators arrested Joseph Buck Auclair, 29, on July 15 in connection with a string of blazes at the Thermal area reservation, fire department spokeswoman Jody Hagemann said.
Auclair pleaded not guilty to eight counts of property arson and one count of arson of an inhabited structure — all felonies, and is due back in court on Friday, according to court records.
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Auclair is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the county jail in Indio.
— City News Service
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