Convicted former Safe Haven volunteer Robert Dean Cates, 74, also known as Robert Dean Koym, is being held in the Colusa County Jail without bail while awaiting sentencing for arson.
Cates is facing additional felony charges after he failed to appear in court on July 19 for sentencing.
Cates was convicted by a jury on June 4 of torching the Safe Haven Recovery and Wellness Center on Oct. 24, 2019, just a month after the mental health and substance abuse treatment program moved to its new home on Oak Street, where Cates served as a peer leader. The building, once a popular event center in the 1960-70s, has since been demolished.
According to Public Defender Albert Smith, Cates has generally been uncooperative in seeing his case resolved, and has been uncooperative with the Colusa County Probation Department, who is charged with preparing a pre-sentence report.
Cates has a lengthy criminal history, including a conviction for criminally negligent homicide and tampering with physical evidence in connection to the 1997 shooting death of an Alaska man, when he was living there under the name Robert Dean Koym.
Cates also has convictions in California, including allegations involving burglary, vehicle theft, and carrying a concealed weapon. According to court records, Cates has a number of alcohol related crimes, including several for intoxicated driving, including a Colusa County DUI conviction in 2010.
In addition to felony arson, Cates was convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm, after law enforcement located a gun inside his Main Street apartment during the execution of a search warrant, court records indicate.
Cates pleaded not guilty on Aug. 23 on the charge of failure to appear in court.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 10 AM on Aug. 30.
He is scheduled to be sentenced for the firearms and arson convictions on Sept. 27. –