LOS ANGELES
A New Mexico man pleaded guilty today to setting on fire on a county church and preschool last year while children and school employees were inside, officials stated.
Jonathan A. Barajas Nava, 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to a single-count superseding information charging him with damage to religious property.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter scheduled a March 31 sentencing hearing. Nava faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to his plea agreement, on April 24, 2024, Nava set fire to the Retreat Church and Yucaipa Christian Preschool in Yucaipa. Before setting the church on fire, Nava traveled to a nearby gasoline station and purchased a gasoline can and filled it with gasoline.
He then traveled to the church with the can and poured the liquid on the church’s front door. Then, he used an open-flame device to set the area on fire.
The resulting fire damaged the church’s interior carpet, the doorframe seal, and an outdoor mat. Staff and children inside evacuated the building.
Nava then traveled to a nearby strip mall and set fire to the exterior wall, which resulted in no damage.
Nava admitted in his plea agreement that he set fire to the church because of its religious character.
Nava was arrested on April 24 and was charged in state court prior to a federal criminal case being brought against him, according to authorities.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigated this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin D. Young and Peter Dahlquist of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting this case.