Silver Fire Arson Suspect Must Stand Trial, Judge Rules

BANNING, CA — A 54-year-old transient who allegedly set the 2013 Silver Fire near Banning, which blackened more than 20,000 acres and injured more than a dozen people, must stand trial on more than three dozen felony charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Stephen Patrick Medlock was arrested last year after an extensive investigation by Cal Fire arson investigators and Riverside County sheriff's detectives.

At the end of a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on 22 counts of arson and 15 counts of arson causing damage to an inhabited structure.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Jan. 13 at the Banning Justice Center. Medlock is being held on $500,000 bail at the nearby Smith Correctional Facility.

The defendant was arrested in San Bernardino County in March 2018.

The Silver Fire erupted Aug. 7, 2013, sweeping through the foothills and mountains south of Banning into the San Bernardino National Forest.

Investigators allege Medlock used a BIC-style lighter to ignite the blaze. He told sheriff's detectives the fire began accidentally when he laid the lighter down in the brush and it malfunctioned, according to court papers.

The blaze charred 20,292 acres and damaged roughly 60 structures in the community of Poppet Flats. A mountain biker was seriously burned shortly after the fire broke out, and 12 firefighters suffered various minor to moderate injuries trying to contain the brusher over a six-day period.

Evacuations were implemented in Poppet Flats, Mt. Edna, Silent Valley and Twin Pines during the height of the wildfire. The north half of Highway 243, from Twin Pines to Banning, was closed for more than a week as a public safety precaution.

Medlock has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

—City News Service