Arsonist Conviction

A Shasta County jury has convicted a man on several charges from a fire he started last summer in Redding. On July 12th, an area of vegetation between Highway 44 and the parking lot of the Redding Rancheria Tribal Health Center off Butte Street was set ablaze by 48-year-old Demetrius Verdell Henderson. Bystanders extinguished the flames while Henderson laid on the ground a few feet away. Two Redding Police officers arrived to check out what was happening and Henderson threw a half gallon jug of urine at RPD officer Jacob Ruiz, with urine splashing into the officer’s mouth and nose. Ruiz had to seek medical treatment for the exposure. After Henderson was handcuffed, he waited for officers to turn their backs and tried to run away with his hands still cuffed behind his back. Despite orders to stop, he had to be chased down and physically stuffed into the police car. Henderson was found guilty Tuesday of resisting arrest, battery on an officer and arson of forest land, which counts as a felony strike. Sentencing is set for January 31st.

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