Convicted arsonist and former Safe Haven volunteer Robert Dean Cates, 74, also known as Robert Dean Koym, is being held in the Colusa County Jail while awaiting formal arraignment on a felony charge of failing to appear in court for sentencing.
Cates reportedly absconded to Washington after he failed to show up to court on July 19 as ordered, and was captured near Canada.
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.
According to testimony at Cates preliminary hearing on Monday, Colusa County District Attorney investigator Gabrielle Zurate tracked Cates cellphone to Bellingham, a coastal city about 20 miles from the city of Surrey, in British Columbia.
Zurate said she flew to Washington to retrieve Cates after he was taken into custody by Bellingham law enforcement, after nearly a month on the run.
Colusa County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson found sufficient cause to hold Cates to the felony charge, with an additional special allegation for committing the act while released from custody on his own recognizance, which could add up to three years to his sentence for arson. He will be arraigned Sept. 13.
Cates sentencing for felony arson has been rescheduled to Sept. 27. –