NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A Napa County woman has pleaded no contest to multiple counts arson crimes that were committed`from late October through last summer.
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced Thursday that Debra Ann Windholz, 60, pleaded no contest on Aug. 1 to three counts of arson of a forest land.
The plea was taken in Napa County Superior Court before Judge Diane Price. Haley said the terms of the plea call for Windholz to register as an arson offender, be placed on four years of formal probation and spend a maximum of six months in the Napa County Detention Center.
Additional appropriate terms and conditions of probation, including damages and restitution for the fires, will be argued at sentencing and imposed by the judge, Haley said.
Haley said these three counts are strikes under the “Three Strikes” law and will be on Windholz’s permanent record.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office charged Windholz with setting 11 fires between Oct. 30, 2015, and Aug. 10, 2017.
Haley said the fires were all maliciously set in the area of Berryessa Knoxville Road, adding that the charges are not connected to the Tubbs, Patrick and Atlas wildfires in October 2017.
The case was investigated by Cal Fire. Arson investigators Russell West and Gary Uboldi spearheaded the investigation, according to Haley.
Windholz had previously posted a $200,000 bail bond. She will be in court for a sentencing hearing on Sept. 18, Haley said.
“We are glad that the defendant took early responsibility for her crimes,” said Deputy District Attorney Agnes Dziadur, who prosecuted the case. “Her dangerous actions put our community at risk. We would like to express our gratitude to the Cal Fire investigators, who put an immense amount of time and resources into this case. It was their work which made this resolution possible.”
Napa County woman reaches plea agreement in arson case
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