Cotton Fire arsonist pleads guilty

A Los Lunas man charged in connection with the devastating Cotton 1 Fire that swept through the bosque and into the Carson Park neighborhood late in June, destroying 12 homes and injuring 12 firefighters, accepted a plea deal last week.

Jacob LaHair, 31, of Los Lunas, pleaded no contest on Oct. 16 to negligent arson. He was sentenced to four years in prison, followed by parole and 18 months of supervised probation, according to a statement posted to the New Mexico 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Facebook page on Friday, Oct. 17.

“This was as close to the max possible incarceration allowed under law for the charge faced,” the statement reads.

LaHair was charged with negligent arson and criminal damage to property over $1,000, both fourth-degree felonies, in June. He was indicted on both charges by a Valencia County Grand Jury on July 3. According to online court records, the criminal damage to property charge was dismissed as part of LaHair’s plea agreement.

Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp said he was happy to see a conviction in the case.

“It brings closure to people in the community, knowing somebody was held accountable,” Propp said Monday.

The Cotton 1 Fire was one of two bosque fires in the Los Lunas area in late June. The Cotton 1 Fire started on Saturday, June 21, southwest of the Los Lunas river bridge and quickly spread into the Carson Park neighborhood.

On Sunday, June 22, a second fire — Cotton 2 — began in the bosque to the northeast of the bridge. At the time, Propp called the second fire arson, but the cause of the Cotton 2 Fire hasn’t been determined.

The two fires were combined for purposes of management and named the Desert Willow Complex Fire.

According to the criminal complaint filed in magistrate court on June 25, LaHair wanted to show his children how fast fallen “cotton” burns, so he flicked a lit cigarette into the accumulation on the ground.

Cotton is produced by female cottonwood trees and disperses the seeds. It can build up into thick layers and drifts, especially in the bosque areas where the trees are prevalent and is highly flammable.

During the investigation of the Cotton 1 Fire, a man living in the bosque told investigators another man named Jacob might have been involved in starting the fire, according to the criminal complaint filed to obtain the arrest warrant for LaHair.

On Monday, June 23, the Cotton 1 Fire was officially determined to be incendiary — a human-caused event. Later that day, investigators were given camera footage from a house directly behind where the Cotton 1 Fire originated and a white vehicle was seen reversing out of the fire scene.

By that Tuesday, information from a witness was relayed to the investigators, alleging LaHair was seen walking away from the fire with his children. The witness said LaHair told him he was trying to stop the fire.

The next day, Wednesday, June 25, an anonymous call to dispatch identified LaHair as the person who started the fire. When Valencia County Sheriff’s Office deputies followed up on the call, they made contact with a man who lived in Carson Park.

“(The man) told deputies that a male known to him ... as LaHair advised him he started the fire by demonstrating to his children how fast cotton burns and proceeded to flick his cigarette onto the cotton ... which started ... (the) Cotton 1 Fire,” the criminal complaint reads. “... Jacob told him he started the fire ... Jacob was laughing and making jokes regarding the incident.”

LaHair turned himself into the Los Lunas Police Department on June 25.

In its statement, the DA’s office thanked the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office and the fire investigators from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security for their hard work in investigating the fire.

“We also would like to thank our office’s support staff, including Laurie Glaser for her hard work in preparing the administrative side of the case,” the statement reads. “Finally, we send our condolences to all the citizens affected by this fire. This may not be able to make up for the losses of everyone affected by this case, but we hope it brings some closure and justice.”