Delays in Oak Fire case likely with DA turnover

Who exactly will represent the people in prosecuting Oak Fire suspect Edward Wackerman?

At this point, no one seems to know for certain, leaving the high-profile case in limbo.

Fresno Superior Court Judge Houry Sanderson said last week that by Sept. 14 she would like to know who the attorney will be calling the shots for the prosecution.

Outgoing Mariposa County District Attorney Walter Wall told the court on June 16 that Assistant DA Gerard Egan would be prosecuting the case.

That was apparently news to Egan, who told the court at a July 1 hearing that the decision about who shall prosecute the Wackerman case will rest with whoever the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors appoints as a new DA.

Applications for the DA position are due by Aug. 31. The board hopes to conduct public interviews and appoint a new DA as soon as Sept. 8. The office will be up for election in 2028.

Revolving DAs

The case has had a revolving door of prosecutors, beginning with former DA Mike McAfee, Walter Wall, the California Attorney General’s Office, back to DA Wall and soon, someone new.

Egan told the court during this transition period one of two deputy district attorneys — Josh Mireles and Victoria Fernandez — will get themselves up to speed on the case.

Whether that is strictly to maintain some kind of continuity with the case within the DA’s office, or whether one of the deputies would actually try the case in court is unclear.

All the parties in the case are under a gag order that keeps them from talking to the press and media.

For Mireles the case could present a potential conflict, or at the very least an awkward cross-examination.

Mireles father in-law is former DA Wall, who took Wackerman’s purported confession.

That confession, and whether it really is a confession, will likely be a major focal point of the trial. Wall will likely be called to testify on the circumstances of the confession and how Wackerman allegedly asked for Wall by name.

Wackerman’s attorney, Ric Squaglia, said he could be ready for trial by November and that he anticipates the defense taking three weeks.

The prosecution’s preparation is more of an open question.

It will take a new attorney considerable time to review a voluminous evidence file, with what is said to be terabytes of video, audio and data.

The Oak Fire

The 2022 Oak Fire, which burned nearly 20,000 acres and torched 127 homes, is widely considered one of the most devastating in Mariposa County history.

Wackerman, 74, is charged with 17 counts of felony arson for starting the fire. He has maintained his innocence and claims the fire started from natural causes.

But investigators claim Wackerman set three other fires in July 2022 before igniting the blaze on July 22, 2022, that would become the Oak Fire.

Law enforcement arrested Wackerman 11 months after the fire but have not revealed a precise motive for the arson. Wackerman is said to have once been a former volunteer firefighter.

Wackerman home alone

Judge Sanderson ruled last week that beginning July 6 a family member will no longer have to watch over Wackerman while he lives under house arrest in Midpines.

Wackerman’s daughter, Julie Leonard Smith, had been looking after her father since December 2025 as a condition of his pretrial release because of his declining health.

Defense attorney Squaglia said Wackerman no longer needs someone with him 24-7 and that “family members are being strained” by the obligation.

Egan, for the prosecution, did not object.

Wackerman will still be on a GPS monitor and is not allowed to leave his home without contacting authorities.

Judge Sanderson ordered that all vehicles must be removed from the Midpines property.

During the July 1 hearing, Sanderson brought in a second court stenographer to provide a real time transcript of what is said in court. Known as Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART), the verbatim transcript appears on a computer screen for Wackerman to read.

Wackerman gets around in a wheelchair and is profoundly hearing impaired. On several occasions, he has appeared frustrated by his difficulty hearing and understanding what was happening in court.