Sacto 9-1-1: Cal Fire arrests El Dorado Hills man in arson fires
  
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October 28, 2008
Cal Fire arrests El Dorado Hills man in arson fires
From Sandy Louey:
Cal Fire officials have arrested a 25-year-old El Dorado Hills man for allegedly 
setting seven fires earlier this month.
Kenneth Powell was arrested on suspicion of seven counts of arson, according to 
a press release.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection made Monday's arrest 
with assistance from the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, said Bill 
Dillard, a criminal investigator with the DA's office.
The seven fires broke out during a two-hour period on Oct. 18 and 19. All were 
grassland fires except one that was set in a dumpster at Raley's, Dillard said.
The grassland fires were in large, dry fields and many were near multi-million 
dollar homes. The fires were kept to less than an acre each because of the quick 
response from fire agencies including Cal Fire and the El Dorado Hills Fire 
Department, he said.
The investigation was a joint effort between Cal Fire, El Dorado Hills Fire, and 
the DA's office.
Categories: Arson 
Tags: arson El Dorado Hills arrest Cal Fire
Posted by Bill Enfield
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Sacto 9-1-1 Q&A
Q: What happened in the case of Tracy Elizabeth Kaufman whose boyfriend drowned 
her 2-year-old daughter? 


A: In one of Sacramento County's most horrific child abuse cases, Tracy 
Elizabeth Kaufman and Joseph Carlos Engle were sentenced to lengthy prison terms 
in 2000 for the murder of Kaufman?s 2-year-old daughter, Rebecca Meza. 

Engle, then 36, was sentenced to 35 years to life after previously pleading 
guilty to four counts of child abuse and to the April 1997 killing of Rebecca in 
a Rancho Cordova apartment. 

Rebecca died after her head was held under water in an ice-cube filled tub until 
she lost consciousness. Investigators said Engle was punishing her for soiling 
her pants. 

Kaufman, the then 36-year-old mother of five children, was sentenced to 72 years 
in prison on 19 charges -- including false imprisonment, child molestation and 
abuse. 

Among her crimes, Kaufman admitted to dressing up her 11-year-old daughter like 
an adult and holding her hands while the child was molested by Engle -- a charge 
he denied. 

The Bee reported that courtroom employees and spectators shook their heads in 
disbelief as the abuses in 1997 were chronicled. 

Blankets covered the windows of the apartment to keep secret what went on inside 
while Kaufman and Engle, her live-in boyfriend, binged on methamphetamine, 
investigative reports show. 

Detectives wrote of children being whipped, forced to take baths in tubs filled 
with ice, and locked in their bedrooms for hours. 

The 11-year-old girl was given methamphetamine in her mouth with a syringe, the 
reports said. 

Rebecca's death sparked community outrage when it became clear that officials in 
Sacramento County Child Protective Services were aware of reports of neglect but 
did not remove the children. 

Within a month of the toddler's death, the agency reversed its practice of 
keeping children in households despite evidence of drug abuse or chronic 
neglect.

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