A Chula Vista woman was released from jail Tuesday after being sentenced to 276 days she has already served after pleading guilty to committing two arsons.
Shirley Anne Edwards, 54, who is also known as Shirley Gentry, was ordered to complete a six-month treatment program under terms of three years probation.
Edwards also was ordered to complete volunteer work with a ministry program and return to court in six months for a review. She was fined $1,444.
Any restitution order may be determined at a later date, ruled Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Ed Allard. Most of the fires she was originally charged with setting did not have substantial damage.
Edwards pleaded guilty Nov. 3 to setting fire to a shed near a church in the 600 block of G Street on Thanksgiving, 2015. She was found dancing in the street afterwards. She also admitted setting fire to a mattress outside the Salvation Army on July 12.
She could have been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. If she violates terms of probation, she could go to prison.
Allard dismissed two arson charges and two arson attempts after she pleaded guilty to two counts. Edwards was arrested Aug. 5 by Chula Vista Police after the fire department responded to three brush fires that morning.
A trash can was also set on fire around 5:16 a.m. in the 200 block of Broadway and another fire was reported at 5:40 a.m. in the 300 block of Broadway on Aug. 5. The third fire occurred in the 400 block of Broadway at 5:48 a.m. and Edwards was detained.
On July 28, the door to a restaurant was set on fire. She was also charged with setting fire to a couch outside.
Court records show Edwards was ordered in 2015 to stay away from a nail salon and two other stores in Chula Vista after she was sentenced for misdemeanor battery and received probation.
