Copper man sets house ablaze, shoots himself

By SEAN JANSSEN

The Union Democrat

A Copperopolis man is believed to have fatally shot himself after setting the Little John Road house he lived in on fire.

Calaveras County Sheriff's Department Lt. Gary Kuntz identified the man as James Arnold Watt, giving his age as approximately in his 50s.

The incident occurred on the 4000 block of Little John Road, between Bow Drive and Flint Trail.

Fire officials said Watt called dispatchers about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to say he set the house ablaze and planned to commit suicide.

When authorities arrived, Watt was seen on the porch of the house brandishing a rifle. Neighbors said he had warned off firefighters while carrying the weapon and paced the porch while he spoke on a cordless phone.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Bob Lehmann, incident commander for fire officials at the scene, said efforts to combat the house fire were hampered by the gunman's presence. Cal Fire spokeswoman Lisa Williams said the home was fully involved by the time crews arrived at the scene and wound up completely destroyed.

"It was reported to us the occupant was brandishing a rifle on the structure," Lehmann said. "We made some drops on the fire from aircraft to control the wildland but made no action in the structure."

Grass caught fire on the property and spread to neighboring yards, but the blaze did not spread to any surrounding structures.

Kuntz said the armed man shot himself with the rifle at about 11:40 a.m.

"Once I got on top of the hill (near the home), he dispatched himself," Kuntz said, confirming Watt had turned the gun on himself.

Just minutes after police witnessed the violent act, fire crews rushed to the structure from their position about one-third of a mile west of the home on Little John Road, where they had awaited word that the man had been disarmed.

Neighbors said they did not know Watt well, not even enough to know his name. Father Jerry Roberts, his next-door neighbor and vicar of the St. Michael's and All Angels Episcopal Church in Sonora, said he knew Watt by his middle name of Arnold and that Watt had always seemed friendly in the conversations they had across their fence from time to time.

From conversations with Watt, Roberts said he learned that he had been in a motorcycle accident in recent years and "couldn't get around real well." Roberts added that Watt had a long history of medical problems and was taking "lots of medication."

Michelle Pillinini, the owner of the destroyed house, had brought Watt in to live with her, neighbors said, adding that he was either a friend of boyfriend.

Roberts said Pillinini had been out of state to attend a wedding and arrived home as the standoff took place. In addition to the house fire, Roberts said dogs had been shot at the home and he had seen their bodies in the backyard of the residence.

Pillinini, listed as vice president of the Golden Gate Gordon Setter Club, had likely owned the animals. Roberts said the act of killing them surprised him.

"Arnold always took good care of the animals," Roberts said. "They followed him around everywhere. I'm sure that wasn't the welcome back (Pellinini) was expecting."

"It's just one of those sad things that seems to happen. I feel sorry and sad that he chose the direction that he chose to go."

Contact Sean Janssen at sjanssen@uniondemocrat.com or 736-8097.