The defendant lit numerous fires in apartment building carports in West Hollywood and Hollywood 15 years ago. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A court has denied an appeal by serial arsonist Harry Burkhart, who is serving a 33-year prison sentence for setting a series of fires over the New Year’s weekend in 2011-12 that terrorized residents in Hollywood, West Hollywood and other parts of Los Angeles.

A panel from the California Second District Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by the defendant, who is now 38 years old. Burkhart filed an appeal seeking to overturn his conviction on multiple counts of arson based on the claim that he was wrongly found to be ineligible for mental health diversion. The panel of three judges held a hearing in February on the appeal and announced the ruling on June 18.

Attorneys for the convicted arsonist argued during the initial trial, and later during two subsequent reviews on his sanity, that Burkhart suffers from multiple mental health issues including autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A trial court previously ruled that Burkhart acted in a sane and deliberate manner when starting the fires and that his mental state was not a significant contributing factor, thus making him ineligible for mental health diversion.

In the latest appeal, attorneys argued that state law had changed since Burkhart was convicted, adding new mental disorders to the list that qualify an individual for mental health diversion. The court denied the appeal, ruling that “substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding” and that changes to the state law are not applicable in Burkhart’s case.

“Reviewing the record as a whole, with deference to the trial court’s evaluation of the evidence and credibility of the expert witnesses, substantial evidence supports the court’s finding by clear and convincing evidence that Burkhart’s mental disorders were not motivating, causal or contributing factors to Burkhart’s commission of the arsons,” the court ruling read. “Thus, the court did not abuse its discretion in denying Burkhart’s motion for mental health diversion.”

Burkhart, a German national who lived in an apartment on Sunset Boulevard near Highland Avenue when he started more than 52 fires from Dec. 30, 2011, to Jan. 2, 2012, was convicted in March 2018 of 25 counts of arson of property, 18 counts of arson of an inhabited dwelling and two counts each of possession of an incendiary device, attempted arson and arson of a structure. The trial took several years due to delays caused by court-ordered reviews and additional hearings over Burkhart’s sanity.

Burkhart started many of the fires in carports and subterranean garages at apartment buildings in the Hollywood and West Hollywood areas, but also struck in the San Fernando Valley.

Prosecutors said Burkhart set the fires as retaliation after his mother, Dorothee Burkhart, was arrested on Dec. 28, 2011, for fraud-related crimes she committed in Germany. Dorothee Burkhart faced an extradition hearing at the time and was later deported. According to a court record, Burkhart purchased “fire starters” from a grocery store on the evening his mother was arrested. During a court hearing for his mother the following day on Dec. 29, 2011, Burkhart yelled out “F- America, F- all Americans” and was removed from the courtroom. Court records state Burkhart lit the first fire at approximately 1 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2011, beginning what became a four-day arson spree that ended when a reserve deputy from the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station pulled him over near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. No lives were lost, but the arson spree is estimated to have caused more than $3 million in property damage and displaced dozens of families and residents in the buildings that were targeted.

Many of the fires were started in West Hollywood, including a blaze in a carport in the 1000 block of North Edinburgh Avenue. (photo by Edwin Folven)