Volunteer Fire Fighter Arrested

[scannerboy02]

SAN DIEGO -- A volunteer who fought San Diego County's recent wildfires has a secret: He's a convicted arsonist.

Steven Robles is now back in prison for failing to tell his parole officer that he'd been working with the Ranchita Volunteer Fire Department.

The 30-year-old Robles was working as a firefighter volunteer before his conviction a decade ago for setting seven blazes in North County that burned a dozen homes.

Robles was paroled in May. Last month, he was accepted for the Ranchita Department and was on the front lines in battling wildfires that devastated the county.

Two weeks after he came aboard, Robles was discovered by a state fire investigator who recognized him while having dinner at a fire station.

His probation violation sent him back to prison to serve out more of his term.

Ranchita Fire Chief Gary Loyd says he never had a reason to question Robles about his past, adding: "The guy was out there saving lives and houses. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't supposed to be."

Authorities say Robles is not suspected of setting of the recent fires.

 

[karldotcom]

They sure are on top of things in SD County!

 

[BoxAlarm187]

One of the reasons that we do nationwide background checks before we vote members into my VFD...

 

[hoser147]

They couldnt have done to good of a Background investigation on him, he wouldnt have made it past the front door...........Hoser

 

[Stephen]

I agree that they need to a better job of doing a back ground check on people, but I hope that this guy doesn't go back to jail for simply working at a volunteer fire department, fighting fires and saving lives, and as they said is not suspected of recent arsons. Though, I do believe he should not be able to work at the FD any longer.

 

[linuxwrangler]

...I hope that this guy doesn't go back to jail for simply working at a volunteer fire department, fighting fires and saving lives...

Depends on terms of his release, I suppose. If the guy is so obsessed with fires, and remember that he burned a dozen homes, that he is compelled to violate his release terms and risk returning to prison to be around them then yes, there very well may be good reason to get him off the street.

Perhaps his intentions are completely pure and whatever mental issues he has that drive him to destroy property and put people's lives at risk no longer exist. But I'm not sure I want to bet on it.

A thought-experiment. Replace "arsonist" with "child molester" and then imagine the outcry if he were discovered volunteering at the local kindergarden. I doubt there would be too many people arguing that they hope he doesn't go back to jail just for trying to improve the education of 5-year-olds.

 

[GTR8000]

Thankfully NYS instituted mandatory arson background checks a few years ago to catch this very thing. It's NYS law now that any prospective volunteer FF must have a criminal background check to see if he was ever convicted of arson in any degree, and if so, he is permanently ineligible to be a volunteer in the state.

 

[hoser147]

Most Departments will not take a member on for any criminal History. Even extensive Driving citations will keep someone from Qualifying for a position. Was this by any chance a Private Fire Company? They seem to have more lax rules and often dont have access to a good background investigation. Most Background Investigations are done by the chief and Law enforcement working together on it...........Hoser

 

[trooperdude]

It's a money issue with some small departments.

We're hit from all sides by unfunded mandates, and some
let this slip through the cracks because of $$$

Other's require EMT to be a member, and so the background check falls on the county before they issue an EMT license.

LiveScan is only $20 for an FBI/State background.

How can you NOT afford it as a department ?

You don't even have to get messy anymore. Mine were done with an optical reader and a laptop.

 

[RolnCode3]

Kudos to the investigator. Know thy enemy. Literally.

 

[mkewman]

many agencies charge the applicant the fee for livescan.

 

[hoser147]

In a pre-employment Background investigation by a local LEO, there is a NCIC check, along with fingerprinting and a driving record check all done inhouse. Using the various national databases. Most of the online background checks do not have the access to do a complete and through background check like thru a government agency. Alot of agencies will also do background checks for a fee however they cannot release all the info to the prospected employer. IT will just state the person has a criminal background or entries on their drivers license, in this type it is just for private sector work. Ours was multi teared background check. It went thru the Chief or an Invesigtor, The PD and also a Phsyc. evaluation..........Hoser

 

[trooperdude]

many agencies charge the applicant the fee for livescan.

Maybe works for your area, but my department has a real difficult time with
recruiting and retention of volunteers.

Another $20 fee on top of the $2K in personal equipment they have to buy is usually the straw that breaks the camel's back for volunteerism.

We just eat it as part of the cost of doing "business".