SLO County woman charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, arson
A woman charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and arson — including at least one fire in Heritage Ranch — pleaded not guilty to the crime on Wednesday.
Dana Michelle Valentinebrink, 56, was charged with 11 felonies — two counts of attempted murder, seven counts of arson and two counts of vandalism — and four misdemeanor counts of violating a domestic violence restraining order.
More than half of the criminal charges stem from an incident on Aug. 5, court records show.
Court records show that day, Valentinebrink allegedly set fire to an inhabited structure in the 2500 block of Pinto Lane in Paso Robles, as well as four vehicles, including a Porsche, Honda, Chevrolet truck and RV.
Reporting from KSBY at the time showed about one-quarter of the building completely destroyed.
Both attempted murder charges, five of the arson charges and two of the court order violations stem from the Aug. 5 fire.
The other two arson charges and a court order violation stem from an incident on July 28, an additional court order violation allegedly occurred on July 12 and the two vandalism charges are related to an incident on July 11, court records showed.
According to court documents, Valentinebrink’s husband meanwhile filed a domestic violence restraining order against her June 26, the same day she was accused of trespassing and the same month in which he filed for divorce.
Court records show Valentinebrink also had two other unrelated misdemeanor cases in progress.
She faced charges of trespassing on June 26 and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content above .08 on July 24. She pleaded not guilty to both crimes on Sept. 3, records show.
Her next court date was scheduled for Sept. 15.
