People v. Nguyen CA4/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On the afternoon of April 24, 2020, the fire department responded to a fire inside the home where Nguyen was living. The fire started in the home’s bathroom and burned most of a bathroom vanity. The fire also caused damage to adjacent rooms and to the ceiling of an outside patio overhang connected to the house. When authorities responded to the fire, Nguyen was found sitting under a tree a few blocks away with three lighters in his pockets. Nguyen was taken to the police station for questioning and voluntarily gave a statement to a police detective, during which he stated that he brought fire from an outside fire into his bathroom in order to burn “evil” and “spirits,” but that the fire got out of control because he failed to keep an eye on it or put it out with water. Nguyen was charged with one count of arson of an inhabited structure or inhabited property (§ 451, subd. (b)).

Unless otherwise indicated, all further statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 At trial, the jury heard testimony that the home where Nguyen lived had been sold by Nguyen’s sister in January 2020, and that the man who bought the property was in the process…