CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Corvallis teen who admitted to starting the Chip Ross Park Fire in September 2014 is set to meet face-to-face with the homeowners and tenants affected by the fire.
Salem-based Neighbor to Neighbor Inc., a mediation company, has been contracted by the Benton County Juvenile Court to facilitate the process between Dawson DeWolfe and the victims of the September 2014 brush fire that destroyed 86 acres south of Chip Ross Park.
In January, Dawson DeWolfe, 16, admitted to misdemeanor charges of reckless burning, reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal mischief in a disposition — the juvenile equivalent of sentencing — in front of Benton County Judge Matthew Donohue. As part of the disposition, DeWolfe was required to attend restitution mediation.
Charlie Ikard, Neighbor to Neighbor executive director, said the mediation process could take several months. Neighbor to Neighbor representatives recently sent out letters to homeowners and tenants who experienced financial loss and direct damage to their properties as a result of the fire. Pre-mediation interviews with the homeowners are scheduled between Nov. 16 and Dec. 4.
“The situation is way outside the scope of what we normally do,” Ikard said. “We typically do one meeting with a victim or two with a juvenile offender. This has a lot more victims than what would work for that process. So we’re modifying the process to allow each of the victims to have some say. I suspect this will need several meetings.”
Ikard said the process depends on the availability of the victims to meet with DeWolfe and could run into next year.
“I would like to see us move forward with this as quickly as possible,” he said.
It’s unclear, however, if the mediation process will alter the $300,000-plus restitution fee ordered by the court.
DeWolfe’s defense attorney, Danielle O’Brien, said in January that DeWolfe did not dispute the restitution judgment, but there were concerns with the amount.
“He understands he has a significant debt to pay,” O’Brien said in court. “His family does not have the financial resources that would even make a dent in that restitution.”
O’Brien was not immediately available for comment Friday.
Kristen Farnworth, the deputy district attorney for Benton County who prosecuted the case, said she was aware of the mediation meeting, but said it was unlikely the mediation would change the court-ordered restitution fee.
“Obviously nobody has that kind of financial resources available and so he was allowed to do it on a payment schedule,” Farnworth said Friday. “But it’s still a court order. The only way to modify a court order would be to file something with the court to modify it. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. But in my opinion it would have to be some really unusual circumstances.”
Ikard said he is uncertain whether the process will have a bearing on the restitution fee.
“My understanding is that with the size of the loss, I think it would pretty difficult for the offenders to come up with the total restitution,” Ikard said. “I think it’s more likely that the restitution will look like community service and apologies.”
The other teen involved, Christopher Farris, received probation on a charge of evidence tampering in the case and no claims of restitution were filed against him. The court did not order him to be part of the mediation process.
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