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ABQ man pleads guilty to setting fire at Calif. church preschool
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An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty to trying to set a California church preschool and strip mall on fire in 2024.
Jonathan Barajas Nava, 37, pleaded guilty to damage to religious property, said Connor Williams, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice Central District of California.
“Nava admitted in his plea agreement that he set fire to the church because of its religious character,” Williams said.
Nava’s sentencing hearing is set for March 31. Nava will face 20 years in federal prison, Williams said.
Nava was arrested on April 24 and charged in California state court prior to a federal case being brought against him, according to the DOJ.
On April 24, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded around 1:40 p.m. to a call of an arson at the Retreat Church and Yucaipa Christian Preschool, southeast of San Bernardino, according to a criminal complaint at U.S. District Court.
The caller told fire protection that “someone placed a gas can in front of the church and lit it on fire.” He then used an open-flame device to set the area on fire, causing damage to the church’s carpeting and doorframe, Williams said.
Fourteen staff members evacuated 48 children to a grass area outside before calling 911, the complaint states.
A few hours later, around 4:45 p.m., a fire was reported at an optometrist’s office inside a strip mall a mile away from the preschool, agents said. Nava had set fire to the exterior wall, Williams said.
