ADHD Defense Spares Man Prison Time For LA Brush Fire

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 28-year-old man charged with causing an Eagle Rock brush fire that shut down two freeways and forced residents to flee their homes was granted a chance Wednesday to enter a mental health diversion because he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Los Angeles County Superior Court judge's decision could spare Daniel Michael Nogueira more than 10 years in prison if he had been convicted on arson charges at trial.

Nogueira has poor impulse control because of his ADHD, his attorney Alan Jackson told the Superior Court Judge Kerry White Wednesday. That explains why he got carried away with horseplay and shot a "firework mortar" from a moving car into a homeless encampment on Aug. 25, 2019, argued Jackson. The novel ADHD defense worked.

Though prosecutors with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office objected to the diversion program, White sided with the defense. If Nogueira completes the diversion program, the case would be dismissed without a criminal record, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Prosecutors had argued that Nogueira remains a threat to the community. He faced more than a decade in prison if convicted of one felony count each of use of a destructive device and explosive to injure or destroy and arson of a structure or forest, along with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon involving a "firework mortar" involving two alleged victims, according to the criminal complaint filed March 22.

The charges stemmed from an August 2019 brush fire that burned 45 acres in Eagle Rock. It took firefighters two days to fully contain the wildfire, which wound up jumping the Ventura (134) Freeway and threatened some homes, although none ultimately burned. The blaze sent a large plume of smoke visible across the basin and forced the closure of stretches of the 134 and Glendale (2) freeways.

Two people at the encampment suffered minor injuries, and a firefighter was hurt while fighting the blaze, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Nogueira, who lived in Eagle Rock at the time, was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department detectives less than a week after the Aug. 25, 2019, blaze, authorities said. Jail records show that he was subsequently freed on $1 million bail the day after his arrest.

He was subsequently freed on his own recognizance with the conditions that he not own or use any type of destructive devices and not stop or loiter near any homeless encampments.

"I'm very pleased with the court's decision as it will allow Mr. Nogueira the opportunity to get the help he clearly needs," Jackson said in a statement after the hearing.

The defense attorney noted that "this result reflects exactly what the legislature intended" when it passed a state law allowing defendants in some criminal cases to undergo mental health treatment and for criminal charges to be dismissed if a defendant performs satisfactorily in the diversion program.

"This decision protects the community, and it provides needed resources for Mr. Nogueira," Jackson added in the statement.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.