LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the sentencing of an accused arsonist coming up later this month, authorities are seeking impacted local residents who wish to present victim impact statements to the Lake County Superior Court.
In July, 43-year-old Clearlake resident Damin Anthony Pashilk reached a plea agreement with the Lake County District Attorney’s Office that will see him sentenced to just over 15 years in state prison,
as Lake County News has reported.
Pashilk originally was charged with intentionally setting 15 fires and one attempted fire between July 2, 2015, and Aug. 13, 2016, the largest of them being the last, the Clayton fire, which burned nearly 4,000 acres and destroyed 300 structures in and around Lower Lake.
On Aug. 15, 2016, two days after the Clayton fire began, Cal Fire authorities arrested Pashilk and he has remained in custody since then.
Pashilk faced 23 counts for those fires and was
held over for trial after a month-long preliminary hearing that wrapped up in March.
Since the July plea agreement was announced, authorities have been working with victims of the fires – particularly the Clayton fire – to prepare for Pashilk’s sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 23.
A hearing is expected to be set for a later date to obtain restitution orders for fire victims who have made claims.
Separately, Mary Thomson of the California Victim Compensation Board said there are 100 Clayton fire applicants who have submitted claims to the state. Approximately $22,106.85 has been paid out to victims who sought assistance.
“The Clayton fire is the largest compensation claim case in Lake County,” said Thomson, noting that the agency’s current records date back to 2008.
Information Thomson provided to Lake County News showed that in fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17 the board received more than 51,000 claims on average, paying out $52 million and $53 million, respectively, in those years.
In fiscal year 2017-18, the number of claims climbed to more than 54,000, with payments totaling more than $57 million, the data showed. That was a result of the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in October 2017, which led to 3,493 claim applications and more than $5.2 million in payments.
The Borderline Bar and Grill mass shooting in Thousand Oaks in November resulted in another 295 claims, with $139,501 in claims paid, according to the state data.
Reaching out to local victimsThe Lake County Probation Department reported that one of its essential jobs is “writing reports for the court and providing a voice for victims in those reports.”
Part of that report process includes gathering victim impact statements. Usually the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim-Witness Division leads the gathering of those statements, but this time they are directing the statements to the Probation Department, according to Chief Probation Officer Rob Howe.
“We don’t typically do this,” he said.
Not long after the sentencing, the Probation Department took to its
Facebook page to encourage people to submit victim impact statements.
Howe said he thought that was probably a first for the agency, which usually contacts victims directly because they know who they are.
In the case of the Clayton fire, there are so many victims that they decided to reach out to the community at large, he said, adding that, at that point, no statements had been submitted.
“This is obviously different because it’s almost countywide,” he said, adding it’s a huge loss.
Howe said the victims can include in their statements anything they want the court to know – from how the loss impacted them emotionally and physically, if they were displaced, the financial impact and if they have rebuilt their homes or businesses.
“We really don’t give a lot of guidelines with the victim impacts,” he said.
Those statements will be attached to the report that is submitted to the court for Pashilk’s sentencing hearing, he said.
The report will include social factors, prior convictions for Pashilk and specifics of the case itself. “It’s just a recommendation,” and one that can be argued in court, Howe said.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the judge to make the decision,” Howe said.
If restitution is ordered, it’s also Probation’s job to collect on behalf of victims, Howe said.
Crystal Martin, who heads the Victim-Witness Division, said it’s her agency’s typical job to collect victim impact statements.
She said they walk individuals through the process, including giving them sample statements to help them and encouraging them to say what they want, explaining that each victim has the right to make their impact statement in court.
Victim-Witness also has an understanding of why depositions in cases are a certain way, so they can explain that process, she said.
Martin said Victim-Witness usually serves 800 to 950 victims a year, with some being repeat victims, like in domestic violence cases.
When the Clayton fire occurred in August 2016, Martin said Victim-Witness had a presence in the disaster relief center and was able to share information with victims directly, who then applied to the California Victim Compensation Program.
Explaining claim amounts, Martin said renters who applied received up to $2,000 to relocate. The California Victim Compensation Board also covers income loss, vehicle replacement, home security and even funeral benefits, which are explained
here.
Those individuals impacted by the fire also were entitled to mental health counseling, Martin said.
A lot of the applications were made in the first month after the fire, with Martin explaining that, typically, applications for victim compensation must be done within the first year of the crime. She said it’s still possible to seek help through an application and a late letter.
Victim-Witness has kept in touch with the victims who filed for assistance to update them on the case. Every quarter, two Victim-Witness advocates sit down and make calls to those victims to let them know the latest developments, Martin said.
In July, after the announcement of Pashilk’s plea agreement and the Probation Department Facebook post, Martin said they had a lot of phone calls.
Martin said people were upset about the plea agreement, had questions about the case, what is next for them and how they can get reimbursed.
Following that recent outreach, as of this week, Victim-Witness reported it has received paperwork from five individuals seeking to submit victim impact statements or restitution, which are separate from what the California Victim Compensation Board reported.
Martin said Victim-Witness also has received funds from the state to fund a mass victimization advocate position, which will address crimes like the Clayton fire.
How to submit a statement or seek restitutionIf you are a victim of one of the fires set by Pashilk and wish to submit a victim impact statement or seek restitution, contact Deputy Probation Officer Julianna Bisaccio at 707-262-4285 or by emailing
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than Sept. 15.
A victim packet for restitution can be obtained
here. The completed form can be emailed to the email address above or faxed to 707-262-4292.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
