One of two men convicted of stealing a firefighter’s pickup truck during the deadliest wildfire in California history has been sentenced to 41 days in jail and three years of probation.
The Chico Enterprise-Record reports Robert Depalma of Concow was also ordered to pay more than $6,000 in restitution at his sentencing in Butte County Superior Court on Friday.
Prosecutors said Depalma and William Erlbacher stole the truck from a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection station on Nov. 8, when the wildfire broke out and largely leveled the town of Paradise and killed 86 people.
Erlbacher admitted to taking the truck and Depalma admitted to driving it for several days. The vehicle was damaged and its license plate covered up when it was found in Chico.
