There was little discussion at a June 14 hearing where a Lake Havasu City woman was given a four year prison term for torching an RV in Desert Hills. The punishment was prescribed in a plea agreement convicting 42-year-old Vanessa Byrd of arson of an occupied structure.
The Mohave County sheriff’s office said Byrd was spotted with a five gallon gas can while running from a burning RV in the 3500 block of London Bridge Road in June, 2017. The agency said Byrd had been trespassing on the property before she set the RV on fire.
Byrd had been placed on probation just three months prior to the RV incident for setting a residential structure fire that caused $10,000 in damage. No one was injured in either arson incident.
Attorneys have said that Byrd suffers some mental health issues, but that the disorders don’t constitute a defense from prosecution. Her attorney Sandra Carr said Byrd’s mental health state has improved drastically during her near two year-long jail stay because of consistent counseling and medication treatment.
