Man accused in Bear Creek fire not bright, but dangerous
Marlon Coy, who publicly threatened district attorney, should not have bail cut
If everything the cops say about Marlon Coy is true — if even half of it is true — you can conclude that the accused Bear Creek arsonist is not the brightest man on the planet. He is, however, a potentially dangerous one.
Let’s deal with the first part first. As sheriff’s deputies tell the story, this crime spree began on Sept. 28, when Coy brandished a 9mm semiautomatic pistol to steal a vehicle. Then, on Oct. 16, he allegedly brandished a gun in a quarrel.
We don’t know exactly what the feud was at the hillside property at 475 Diane’s Way and the nearby 800 block of Bear Creek Canyon Road. Like most feuds, it undoubtedly had more than one side. In a remote area, bitterness can fester.
We do know that things got worse. Sheriff’s deputies say that three witnesses saw Coy light the fire on Oct. 15 that caused an estimated $7.1 million in damage, injured 13 firefighters and compelled the evacuation of 150 households.
Coy was arrested in Santa Cruz on Oct. 17, wearing Lycra cycling gear, carrying a backpack stuffed with $15,000 in jewelry, and riding a mountain bike — all property that deputies say was stolen from a home on Hidden Springs Lane.
At this point, I should note that Coy has not been convicted of any of this. He has a right to present a defense. He enjoys the presumption of innocence. The prosecution’s facts may offer an incomplete version of the truth.
But anyone tempted to light a fire in a forest at the time that flames are consuming the Wine
Country has — at the least — a monumentally bad sense of timing. The Bear Creek fire was nowhere as lethal, but it still evoked fear and did huge damage.
All that happened before Coy appeared this week before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge John Salazar. In a brief proceeding in which he pleaded not guilty, the 54-year-old Coy glared at District Attorney Jeff Rosell and said, “You’re next.’’
The DA said nothing
immediately but later, when he was asked about the remark, said, “Bring it on.’’ A good political response, showing that he was uncowed. We all want that in a prosecutor.
Coy nonetheless crossed a line. Even Mafia defendants understand that threatening a prosecutor in America is a very serious thing, something that never benefits business.
Prosecutors have been attacked: In 2013, the Kaufman County, Texas, DA, Mike McLelland, and his wife Cynthia, were shot to death after he vowed to “put away the scum” who killed an assistant
DA. A threat against prosecutors is not good for the defense. It’s not good for the courts. That’s why we should take Coy’s threat seriously.
The immediate issue is that Coy is being held on $800,00 bail — $500,000 in the arson case, and $300,000 for the other cases. His attorney, public defender Sarah Schumacher, has asked for it to be reduced to $100,000 at a Dec. 1 hearing.
(Typically, a defendant has to come up with 10 percent of the amount to get bail. To be released on an $800,000 bond, Coy would have to raise $80,000.)
This should be an easy call. The purpose of bail is to insure that the defendant shows up in court, but exceptions can be made in cases of potential danger. This might be one of those exceptions. At the very least, Coy’s bail should not be reduced.
His remark was not coy. It was chilling.