Martinez Pleads No Contest to Felony Arson Charge for East Angela Street Fire

Jose Martinez, 28, pleaded no contest Thursday morning to felony arson for starting a fire at an East Angela Street home.

Under the plea agreement, Martinez will spend one year in county jail, be on probation for five years and pay up to $210,000 in fines. He was also ordered to stay away from the East Angela Street home and the residents there and to take his prescribed psychiatric medication.

His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 14 in Hayward. Martinez, who has had run-ins with authorities, was first arrested June 8.

The Pleasanton Police Department and Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department responded to the residence early that June  morning and found three children and three adults at the home, including homeowner Harry Harris, who was putting out a fire with a garden hose.

Martinez, who lives at the home, is the ex-boyfriend of Harris' granddaughter and father of the three boys whose room was engulfed in flames. Harris, who discovered the fire, said he found Martinez on the front porch.

"I pushed [Martinez] out of the way to get to the garden hose," said Harris. Police reported finding Harris dousing the fire with the hose through the bedroom window.

"The beds, the outlets, everything in the room was on fire," said Harris.

During the morning of the fire, Harris described Martinez as being agitated.

"He hit a cup against the sink real angry-like," he said. "Then he took a container of cooking oil to the boys' room... After that I saw smoke coming out of the room."

Harris added that before the incident, Martinez had not spoken to the children for a period of time even though they lived in the same home. Martinez's sons are 5, 6 and 7 years old, according to Harris.

The police officers that detained Martinez asked him about the fire, to which he replied, "I started it," according to a department press release.

Officers reported finding a lighter in his pocket that they believe was used to start the fire. Martinez was taken to John George Hospital in San Leandro where he was placed under psychiatric observation.

Authorities have had previous contact with Martinez on other incidents, according to Lt. Tom Fenner of the Pleasanton Police Department.

The fire temporarily displaced the family. No one was hurt in the incident.