FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 10, 2025

Statement by L.A. County Public Defender Ricardo D. García on the proposed legislation to address wildfire-related offenses

In response to the newly proposed legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 469, meant to address wildfire-related offenses, L.A. County Public Defender Ricardo D. García has issued the following statement:

“Our thoughts are with Fire victims who are still reeling and asking for immediate relief – food, water, and stable housing. After that, at a fundamental level what people need is help filling out paperwork, and support cleaning up debris so they can begin to rebuild a semblance of normalcy. Taking from those who were forced to evacuate and from those who lost their homes is serious and we hear the public calling for accountability. California already has strong laws against theft, fraud, and impersonation.

Creating new, redundant offenses will not make communities safer—it will only add costs and strain to an overburdened criminal legal system while diverting resources away from the very people who have already lost so much. Californians are better served by resourcing the rebuilding of their communities and their return home, not by restating laws that are already in the penal code. If lawmakers move forward with this legislation, they must also earmark funding for the already stretched thin public defense system, which will inevitably handle the influx of cases. We can’t allow the need to address a tragedy set aside the constitutional rights of every person..”