Carey Alice Hernandez was sentenced in federal court today to 70 months in prison for intentionally setting fire to Off Road Warehouse to cover up the disappearance of more than $700,000 while she was in charge of company finances.
In April 2024, after a four-day trial, jurors found Hernandez guilty of malicious destruction of a building by means of fire, witness tampering and making false statements.
In late 2018, the owner of Off Road Warehouse, also known as ORW, which sold and installed automotive parts and gear for off-roading, decided to sell the business located at 7915 Balboa Avenue.
The prospective purchaser conducted an audit of ORW, which revealed that between January 2015 and March 2019, while Hernandez was serving as bookkeeper and controller in charge of the company books and records, $744,621 had gone missing from the company.
The jury found that in the early morning hours of March 28, 2019, Hernandez started the fire at Off Road Warehouse, causing the building to burn to the ground.
“This defendant intentionally set a dangerous inferno in what appears to have been an attempt to conceal a massive theft. And then she leaned on her minor daughter to try and cover up her crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden.
At today’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta described the defendant’s actions as “wanton, deliberate and destructive” and “a very dangerous crime” that put firefighters at risk. She noted the crime was made even worse when she asked her daughter to lie for her.
According to evidence presented at trial, surveillance footage showed the defendant driving an SUV with dark rims near her home and the fire scene.
The following day, she lied to federal agents and ORW employees, claiming her SUV had light rims. Video footage from the area contradicted her claims about the vehicle’s rims, leading to convictions for witness tampering and false statements.
ATF’s National Response Team investigated this case with San Diego’s Metro Arson Strike Team. The NRT is ATF’s mobile, rapid response team which investigates the cause and origin of large fires, explosions and bombings at the request of local public safety agencies.
A hearing to determine the restitution that Hernandez owes the victims of her crimes is scheduled for March 14, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Ohta.
