LAKEPORT, Calif. – The preliminary hearing for the man accused of setting the Clayton fire and multiple other blazes around Lake County has been pushed back to the fall.
Originally scheduled for April 26, the preliminary hearing for Damin Anthony Pashilk, 41, of Clearlake has been set to Nov. 1, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Pashilk was arrested and charged last year for setting the Clayton fire near Lower Lake on Aug. 13. That fire burned 3,929 acres and 300 structures, including 200 homes, as Lake County News has reported.
The District Attorney’s Office has filed nearly two dozen charges against Pashilk for the Clayton fire and 16 other blazes or attempted starts around Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Lower Lake and Middletown between July 2015 and August 2016.
Due to the number of fires involved in the case, Hinchcliff said it’s requiring a voluminous amount of additional investigation by the District Attorney’s Office as well as Pashilk’s defense attorney.
That extra work was part of the reason for delaying the proceedings, Hinchcliff said.
Due to the number of fires and the overall damage, Hinchcliff said Pashilk’s case could be the most challenging and serious to ever be prosecuted in Lake County.
“It’s just going to be extremely complex to handle,” he said.
Additionally, Hinchcliff said he had to put the Pashilk case back while he goes to trial this month in the case against Joshua Beavers.
Beavers is charged with the September 2013 shooting death of David Ferrell of Clearlake.
Pashilk remains in custody on $5 million bail, according to jail records.
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Clayton fire arson case preliminary hearing rescheduled
- Elizabeth Larson
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