USA - California. A Riverside County jury returned a verdict of death for Raymond Lee Oyler

A Riverside County jury returned a verdict of death for Raymond Lee Oyler for starting the 2006 fire in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains that killed 5 firefighters, destroyed 34 homes and charred more than 41,000 acres. Judge W. Charles Morgan will sentence Oyler to death or life in prison without parole at a hearing June 5. Oyler, 38, white, was convicted March 6 of 5 counts of 1st-degree murder, 20 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an incendiary device. Prosecutors said he had spent six months --May to October 2006 -- setting brush fires in the Banning Pass, all the while endangering the lives of residents and fire crews and causing extensive property damage. Early in the morning of Oct. 26, he used a combination of matches and a cigarette to light a fire in a remote area of Cabazon. Winds drove the flames into the San Jacinto Mountains, where they reached speeds of 40 mph and temperatures of 1,500 degrees. A U.S. Forest Service firefighting crew was overrun by flames while trying to save a house. The victims were Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, Pablo Cerda, 23; Mark Loutzenhiser, 43; Jason McKay, 27; and Jess McLean, 27.