A man charged with setting brush fires at the dry bottom of the Otay River last year was sentenced Jan. 13 to 32 months in state prison.
The fires were all vegetation and no structures were burned, said Deputy District Attorney Roza Egiazarian.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Michael Popkins ordered Alejandro Gonzalez, 34, to register as an arson offender after he is released on parole. Probation was denied.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty to arson Nov. 9 and three other charges of illegally setting fires were dismissed. He could have received a maximum term of 6 years in prison.
Gonzalez was arrested Sept. 20, 2020, by Chula Vista Police after he was seen quickly walking away from a brush fire in the 1700 block of Fourth Avenue.
Four brush fires were set on Sept. 17 and another on Sept. 19. One was set Aug. 14, and two others on June 5 and June 13, 2020.
Popkins gave Gonzalez credit for four months spent in jail and he reduced a felony auto theft charge to a misdemeanor. He was given 101 days credit on that case. He has a prior conviction for assault in 2008.
