On July 13, 2006, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Gerald Sevier sentenced 39-year-old Jerald Ray Coronado of Exeter to 19 years in state prison on arson charges. A Tulare County jury convicted Coronado of setting a fire that resulted in the destruction of two neighboring homes in Exeter on September 24th of last year. Coronado had been staying as a guest of Marty and Kay Bradsteen in one the homes for about two months before the fire.

Christel Lynch and her 16-year-old daughter, Caitlyn, lived next door to the home the defendant was staying in. Ms. Lynch credited her kitten with waking her up shortly after the fire was set, around 5:30 on a Saturday morning. After seeing the fire, Ms. Lynch then awakened her daughter, and both were able to escape the home before it became engulfed in flames.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Mike Moberly, and was investigated by California Department of Forestry Captain Larry Harris.

Contact Person: Assistant District Attorney Carol Turner, 733-6411.