SLO County man allegedly set fire to a courtroom. Now it’s repaired and back in use
Months after a Nipomo man allegedly broke through locked doors and set a blaze that activated fire sprinklers, soaking a Santa Maria courtroom, it’s back in use with new furnishings.
At 9:12 p.m. Feb. 18, personnel from the Santa Maria police and fire departments were dispatched to an incident in Building G in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court facility at the corner of Cook and Miller streets.
The incident began after a man received a notice about an upcoming hearing and went on a Saturday night to the court complex to see where he had to show up, according to Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker.
After learning the location, the man ignored a security guard’s order to leave and instead broke the two locked doors with large glass windows at the entrance to the criminal court building.
Once inside, he forcefully entered the Department 8 courtroom, pulling the locked doors so hard that he broke the wood frames.
The man then allegedly started a fire on the defense counsel’s chair, which spread to the table and carpet.
The fire generated enough heat that it melted the lights in the ceiling, activating sprinklers.
While the sprinklers extinguished the fire, they dumped so much water that it was 2 inches deep at some points.
Water also infiltrated the courtroom’s adjacent holding cells, but it spared the judge’s chambers and court clerk offices.
In the following days, work crews ripped everything out of the courtroom for eventual replacement.
“Everything is brand-new in there. It was gutted down to the studs,” Parker said.
Instead of stadium seating with cloth seats, the courtroom now has wood benches, the preferred option by the California Judicial Council. The nonfabric surface also can be sanitized and kept clean easier.
Initial plans called for placing the railing, which divides attorneys and court staff from the audience, on wheels to allow flexibility for multiple defendant cases.
However, that feature would have added at least six months because of engineering and architect requirements, so court officials scrapped that plan.
Instead, a U-shaped area has been added to accommodate additional defendants and attorneys, if needed.
Insurance reportedly covered most of the repairs for the construction contract that topped $621,504, according to a report to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
Nipomo man faces felony charges
Meanwhile, 32-year-old Eric Spies of Nipomo was arrested and charged with felony arson and burglary in addition to the original misdemeanor vandalism charge.
The criminal cases have been transferred to San Luis Obispo County since the Santa Barbara County Superior Court is the victim in the new allegations against Spies.
Criminal proceedings were paused earlier this year after a judge determined that Spies could not assist in his defense. However, he has returned to San Luis Obispo County Jail after state mental health officials determined Spies was now competent to stand trial.
The case against Spies continues to make its way through San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
It marked the second unplanned construction project at the Santa Maria Court Complex.
In July 2018, a broken hot water pipe flooded two courtrooms — Departments 1 and 2 — in an older building. Instead of weeks, the renovation encountered delays that stretched for months and saw the court install two modular buildings. They finally reopened more than a year later.
A long-planned construction project for a brand-new criminal courts building in Santa Barbara remains elusive.
After ranking higher, the new Santa Barbara building now is listed as the 13th on a Judicial Council list of 80 projects and funding for what had been estimated as a $216 million project could come during the 2026-27 fiscal year.
