RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A serial arsonist who set nine blazes that damaged Southern California homes has been sentenced to 45 years in state prison.
Steven Rutherford of Banning was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty last month to multiple felony counts of arson. He also has a 1989 arson conviction.
Prosecutors said that beginning in 2011, Rutherford set eight fires in Riverside County and one in San Bernardino County that caused more than $1 million in damage.
The largest was the San Bernardino County fire, set in June of 2013. It burned more than 500 acres and damaged two homes.
