2 Ojai Men Indicted in 4,300-Acre Brush Fire

The son of Ojai’s chief of police and another man have been indicted on charges of recklessly starting a 4,300-acre brush fire while playing with illegal fireworks along a residential street in December.

The Ventura County Grand Jury on Thursdayindicted John Barrett and Brett Schwermer, both 18 and of Ojai, on felony charges of recklessly and unlawfully causing a fire that destroyed a house and scorched forest land. Both men were also charged with one misdemeanor count of starting a fire that burned personal property.

Barrett and Schwermer were allowed to turn themselves in to police Friday, a day after a judge signed a warrant for their arrests. Both were released on $10,000 bail hours later.

Barrett is the son of Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Capt. James Barrett, a 27-year veteran who has served as the chief of police of Ojai for the past five years.

Neither James Barrett nor his son could be reached for comment Friday.

Barrett and Schwermer have been the main suspects in the fire since it was set Dec. 21.

According to sources, Barrett and Schwermer set off what authorities described as “dangerous and illegal” fireworks along Koenigstein Road, east of Ojai. The fireworks appear to have been imported from China or Mexico, investigators said.

Sparks from the fireworks accidentally ignited a small blaze. After trying to stamp out the fire, at least one of the boys ran to a nearby fire station for help, sources said.

But winds of up to 80 mph quickly whipped up and pushed the flames into the hills above Ojai. The fire eventually destroyed one home. About 1,600 firefighters worked through Christmas to extinguish the fire, at a cost of $5 million.

If convicted, both men could be forced to repay that money to the county in addition to serving time for the criminal charge.

The indictment comes two weeks after investigators for the Ventura County Fire Department turned the case over to the district attorney’s office. Investigators hoped prosecutors would convene the grand jury to further the investigation, which had stalled when defense attorneys for the men refused to grant detectives’ requests for interviews.

The grand jury, however, would have the authority to subpoena the men to testify. Transcripts from the grand jury are currently sealed, so it is not yet known if the men did testify.

Those who know the men were shocked by the indictment. Neither had a criminal record. Nor did they have a history of discipline problems at Nordhoff High School, where Barrett was a senior and where Schwermer graduated last year, said Mark Capritto, dean of students at Nordhoff High School.

“They were great kids,” Capritto said. “From a character standpoint, just great kids.”

The pair were close friends during their years at Nordhoff. They were upbeat students with a small but close circle of friends, according to Capritto and others. According to Capritto, both were average students but excelled when it came to subjects they found interesting--like a class on automotive technology.

This year, Barrett worked as an independent study student for Capritto, who also taught classes in computer assisted design. Barrett, he said, helped draw the plans for a series of new baseball fields at San Antonio Elementary School.

Capritto, a volunteer with the Ojai Valley Girl’s Softball Assn., was so impressed with Barrett’s work he offered him a paying job for this spring helping to maintain the new fields.

Since graduating from high school, Schwermer had a job working as a clerk at a local Mervyn’s. He wanted to take some time to figure out what job he wanted to do next, friends said.

Schwermer’s parents were also active in the Ojai Valley Girls Softball Assn., where they were described as loving and involved parents.

Residents along Koenigstein Road where Brett Schwermer lives with his parents and two younger brothers said they were saddened to hear of the arrests but hopeful the teens will be treated fairly.

“I raised four boys myself and kids get into scrapes,” said neighbor John Whitman. “We felt empathetic about the problem and hope whatever happens is in proportionate with what they did and not worse.”

Whitman described Schwermer as friendly but shy. During high school, Whitman said, the brown-haired, stocky teen would have to walk more than a mile to reach his home from the bus stop on California 150.

“If I was driving to my house I’d pick him up and give him a lift,” Whitman said.

Capritto said he was concerned the possible punishment might be too harsh.

“There are a lot of people who want to place blame, and that’s fine,” Capritto said. “I don’t argue with that. But we have to look at the intent. Can we say that these kids set their sights on burning down the Ojai Valley? The answer is clearly no.”

Times Community News reporter Holly Wolcott contributed to this story.