Turlock landlord convicted of burning down tenants’ home

A judge this week sentenced a Turlock landlord to one year in jail for starting a fire at a rural Turlock home during an apparent dispute with his three tenants. The tenants were not injured in the blaze last year.

George Nazar, 52, pleaded no contest to arson of an inhabited structure, after prosecutors filed an amended complaint dropping three counts of attempted murder, according to Deputy District Attorney Sam Getrich, who prosecuted the case.

The prosecutor had said the attempted murder charges would be dropped because there was insufficient evidence to prove those charges in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

Nazar also received a five-year suspended prison sentence, which means a judge could order the defendant to serve the prison sentence if he is convicted of another crime. Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Dawna Reeves on Tuesday ordered Nazar to serve five years of probation and to register as an arson offender for the rest of his life.

The defendant has already paid $10,000 in restitution to the victims, according to Getrich. The county’s Probation Department will later determine how much more Nazar has to pay. The judge also ordered Nazar to stay 100 yards away from the victims and not contact them for five years.

Nazar also is required to comply with any needed mental health counseling ordered by the Probation Department and to take any necessary medications as prescribed by a physician.

Getrich has said in court that he informed the former tenants of the plea deal, and that they are satisfied with the resolution in the case. The criminal complaint against Nazar, filed days after the blaze, listed Richard Koontz, Brenda Bessey and Jonathan Koontz as victims in the case.

The incident involved a landlord-tenant dispute between Nazar and the people living in the travel trailer on his property.

The fire occurred July 27, 2014, in the 400 block of North Verduga Road, just east of Turlock. The blaze destroyed the travel trailer and a nearby outbuilding. The tenants called for help.

Stanislaus County sheriff’s officials said the tenants called authorities earlier in the day to report that Nazar had threatened to kick them out and burn down the trailer. Within minutes of that call, the fire was reported.

As the fire burned the home, Nazar remained holed up inside his nearby home for about an hour until he surrendered to authorities.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Turlock landlord convicted of burning down tenants’ home."