The Friday Flyer • April 7, 2017

CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • APRIL 7, 2017
Community invited to Poker Run fundraiser on Saturday Pg. A4
Horse Camp begins Monday at the Eques- trian Center Pg. A9
14U prepare for tennis match against Fontana Super Shots Pg. A11
Son suspected of setting family home on fire
BY DONNA RITCHIE
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER
The son of the occupants whose Canyon Lake home was set on fire Tuesday was arrested the following day on arson charges. Canyon Lake residents are rallying support for the popular local family whose possessions were lost in the blaze that caused $400,000 damage.
Twenty-one-year-old Jackson Jeremy Jones was ar- rested after the fire was extinguished by 23 firefight- ers. Significant damage was sustained at the two-story house located near the corner of Canyon Lake Dr. and Rim Rock Pl., but the firefighters contained the fire to the single house.
“Firefighters quickly deployed a coordinated fire at- tack and searched for any occupants within the struc- ture,” April Newman, of the Riverside County Fire De- partment, said. “The fire was contained to the structure with significant fire damage on both floors.”
CAL FIRE firefighters responded to the fire that was reported at 4:05 p.m. Five engine companies, one truck company, American Medical Company (AMR) and the Riverside Sheriff’s Department responded. Southern California Edison and the gas company also arrived on scene. The fire was fully contained at 5:16 p.m.
As the fire burned the family’s home, friends gath- ered in the street with the family trying to comfort them over their loss.
Of the 23 firefighters who were on the scene, sever- al remained for hours after the fire was extinguished to further assist in the cleanup and investigation.
Arson was determined to be the cause of the fire. One of the family’s two dogs perished. The American Red Cross was requested to assist the two adults and two children who were dis- placed.
The following day, CAL FIRE Law En- forcement Officers, with the assistance of
the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, arrested Jeremy for allegedly setting fire to his family’s home. He was arrested at approximately 9
p.m. near Canyon Lake Dr. and Gulf
Stream Dr. and booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.
Jeremy will be arraigned today on the following charges: Arson to an inhabited dwelling, arson enhancement, criminal threats, enhancement of arson during a state of emergency, residen-
tial burglary and cruelty to animals. Jeremy’s bail is set
at $2 million dollars.
Meanwhile, the community is rallying to help the family, who is staying at an undisclosed lo- cation, to rebuild after such a devastating loss.
Jeremy’s mother Raquel Pierce is ac-
tive in the Can-
yon Lake
com-
munity. She is a Girl Scout leader and the former president of the Canyon Lake Girls Softball League. Her daughter Megan attends Temes- cal Canyon High School and her young- est daughter Christina attends Canyon
Lake Middle School.
Christina is known to many in
the community as “the Girl Scout Cookie girl” because she sets up a table at the end of her driveway on Canyon Lake Dr. North and sells Girl Scout cookies every year. The Friday Flyer featured her in an article in 2015. When asked then what her favorite thing to do is, she replied, “I like giving donations to shelters like Animal Friends of the Valleys
and hospitals best.”
Several fundraisers for the dis-
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PHOTO BY DONNA RITCHIE PHOTO BY DONNA KUPKE