Fire Authority Seeks $55,000 For Rescuing Stranded Hikers

Orange County Fire Authority officials want to recover the $55,000 the agency spent rescuing a 19-year-old and his 18-year-old friend who got lost hiking in Trabuco Canyon because they allegedly admitted taking hallucinogenic drugs before the escapade.

Attorneys for the OCFA filed a legal brief Wednesday arguing that under a victim's rights law the agency is entitled to recover costs as part of the criminal case against Nic Cendoya, who is charged with possessing 497 milligrams of methamphetamine, which was found in the car that he drove up to the mountain before getting lost Easter Sunday night with his friend, Kyndall Jack.

"We're asking for restitution of the $55,000 we incurred in rescuing Nic Cendoya," OCFA Division Chief Kris Concepcion. "The reason we feel we're entitled to it is we're arguing OCFA is a victim under Marsy's Law."

The agency's attorneys argue in the brief that the two admitted to ingesting hallucinatory drugs before and during the hike and that they experienced hallucinations while they were lost, Concepcion said.

"People have got to be careful. It is not a victimless crime as some people might think, because it caused a great deal of not just cost, but as you know, it resulted in injuries to a couple of people while they were out looking for Nic Cendoya," Concepcion said. "If it weren't for his criminal activity we wouldn't be doing that."

Nick Papageorge's, a 20-year-old volunteer who helped in the search, is also using Marsy's Law to seek financial compensation for his back surgery and a weeklong hospital stay that he said cost about $350,000.

Papageorge's had titanium screws put in his back after he fell about 110 feet from a cliff .

Cendoya is due to be arraigned July 12, when it is also expected the judge in the case will consider the Marsy's Law claims.

At issue is whether legally Cendoya could be compelled to pay any compensation to the fire authority or Papageorge's.

Cendoya is eligible for a drug diversion program, and if he is accepted and completes the requirements, he will not have a conviction his record, preventing Papageorge's from seeking compensation, according to Spitzer and Deputy District Attorney Brock Zimmon.

Orange County officials estimate it cost more than $160,000 to rescue Cendoya and Jack, but they cannot seek compensation because a law that would have allowed that expired in 1999.

Orange County supervisors have approved a draft of a bill they want Assemblyman Don Wagner, R-Tustin, to sponsor that would allow county officials to once again seek compensation for similar incidents.

Cendoya was charged April 30 with a felony count of possession of a controlled substance.

Cendoya attorney Paul Meyer was unavailable for comment.

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- City News Service