A Lake Havasu City woman will be convicted in a second arson case after entering a plea agreement May 23. Vanessa Byrd, 42, was first charged with arson of a residential structure for a February, 2016 fire that caused more than $10,000 in damage to a residence.
Prosecutor James Schoppmann said that arriving firefighters heard Byrd making nonsensical statements about butterflies and flowers. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of criminal damage and was placed on probation in April, 2017.
Three months later Byrd was spotted with a five gallon gas can running from a burning RV in the 3500 block of London Bridge Road in Desert Hills. The Mohave County Sheriff’s office said that Byrd and an associate had been trespassing on that property.
“The defendant was dealing with some mental health issues when she started the fire,” Schoppmann said during Thursday’s hearing in Kingman. Terms of the deal that dismisses unrelated assault charges require Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert to impose a 3-5 year prison term at a June 14 sentencing hearing.
