A Santa Maria courtroom was damaged by a fire over the weekend.
A Nipomo man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony charges of arson and second-degree commercial burglary in connection with a weekend rampage in Santa Maria, where he allegedly broke into a courthouse and set a fire inside a courtroom.
The man allegedly set off sprinklers that, together with the blaze, caused an estimated $750,000 in damage.
But for an unspecified reason, the defendant’s arraignment, which started out in Santa Barbara, was transferred to San Luis Obispo County where he appeared before a judge and entered his pleas.
“I can confirm that both of Eric Spies’ cases were transferred to San Luis Obispo County Court,” Santa Barbara Deputy District Attorney Austin Ingalls told the News-Press. “The court transferred the case to San Luis Obispo County after declaring that it would be a conflict of interest for a Santa Barbara County court/judge to preside over Mr. Spies’ criminal case.”
The prosecutor could not explain why the Santa Barbara County judge believed there would be a conflict if the case were to be heard here.
“The court did not provide a specific basis for the conflict,” he said. “Thus, I cannot tell you specifically why the conflict was declared.”
Despite the transfer, the case still will be prosecuted by the Santa Barbara County D.A.’s Office, Prosecutor Ingalls said. And Mr. Spies will be represented by the Santa Barbara County Public Defender’s Office.
The case, however, “will be heard by a San Luis Obispo County judge in a San Luis Obispo County courtroom,” Prosecutor Ingalls said.
Once in San Luis Obispo, Mr. Spies, 31, entered not guilty pleas and denied all enhancements and allegations on his felony case. A misdemeanor case for vandalism for an unrelated incident was continued for further arraignment.
Both cases were continued to March 2 for a conference to set a date for a preliminary hearing. However, the court also tentatively set the case for the preliminary hearing on March 7.
At his arraignment Wednesday in San Luis Obispo, Mr. Spies asked the court to release him on a pretrial supervised release, Prosecutor Ingalls said.
“I opposed this release based upon public safety concerns,” he said. “The court denied the defendant’s request for release and set bail at $75,000 on the felony case and $2,500 on the misdemeanor case.”
The fire and sprinkler water combined caused extensive damage to furniture, wall paneling, cabinetry, carpeting and court records, according to Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker. The court files will be freeze-dried and digitized before they deteriorate.
The courtroom will be offline for about a year, he said.
According to Mr. Parker, the defendant allegedly went to the Santa Maria court complex Saturday night, ignored a security guard’s order to leave and broke two glass doors to gain entry into the criminal court building, Mr. Parker said.
Once inside, he allegedly forced his way into the Department 8 courtroom, pulling the doors so hard that he broke the wood frames on the top of the doors, he said.
Mr. Spies then allegedly started a fire on the defense counsel’s chair, which spread to the table and carpet. Mr. Parker said the fire was so hot that it melted the lights in the ceiling and caused the sprinklers to come on.
He said the sprinklers extinguished the fire, but it took so much water that it pretty much destroyed the courtroom.
According to Mr. Parker, the defendant told the security guard he received a notice about an upcoming hearing on his misdemeanor case and went to the court complex to see where he had to show up next month.
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