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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 12:19 p.m., Friday, January 26, 2007

Two Maui teens get 90 days in jail for arson

Advertiser Staff

WAILUKU, Maui — Two young Maui men were sentenced today to 90-day jail terms for starting an April 14 fire that destroyed the Pukalani Country Club building and put 32 employees out of work.

Second Circuit Judge Joel August noted that Maxwell Webster and Dayton Valoroso did not have any prior run-ins with the law and have been working full time and attending classes at Maui Community College. Both men have paid $10,000 each in restitution.

He granted their requests for a deferred acceptance of their no-contest pleas to first-degree criminal property damage, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

That means their criminal records will be wiped clean if they successfully complete five years of probation, which includes their jail time, and 360 hours of community service.

According to authorities, Webster and Valoroso, both 19, went to the golf course with the intent to joyride in golf carts.

When they couldn't get the carts to start, they poured gasoline on one cart and set it ablaze. The fire spread to the clubhouse, causing more than $1 million in damage.

The arson was documented by a surveillance camera that led police to the suspects. The Pukalani golf course remains open but the clubhouse and its popular restaurant have not been rebuilt.

A teen who stood by while Webster and Valoroso set the fire was sentenced in October to a year of probation, 300 hours of community service, and $7,000 restitution.

Richard Acorda, 19, of Pukalani, had pleaded no contest to third-degree criminal property damage, a misdemeanor.