Cunha facing 12 felony counts related to explosives crimes

"The defendant does have a prior arson felony conviction out of this court," Smith said while determining the bail. "The complaint (cites) numerous serious felonies that have a lengthy term of imprisonment if convicted of these charges ... up to 640 months." 

Smith set Cunha's pre-preliminary trial for March 4. Cunha received legal counsel from Maya Emig before the attorney recused herself from the case. Cunha will have a public defender assigned to him.  

The criminal complaint filed by the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office against Cunha shows the former Placerville resident faces four felony counts alleging use of destructive devices and explosives "with intent to injure, intimidate and terrify a person and to wrongfully injure and destroy property." Other felony charges include six counts of possession of destructive devices and explosives in a public place, one count related to possession of ingredients to make a destructive device and one count of possession of a destructive device "without first having obtained a permit from the Department of Justice to possess said destructive device." 

Dates relating to the charges range from late June to December 2023, with the majority of the counts dating to December. 

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol and FBI conducted a joint investigation and arrested Cunha Jan. 12. Officials have not shared where Cunha was taken into custody but they noted it was not in El Dorado County. Inmate records at the county jail show his arrest location as East Washington Street at Ellis Street but no city is listed.

In 2007 Cunha started the 80-acre Mine Fire, which burned on federal land. 

The former Cal Fire firefighter and Diamond Springs Fire Protection District volunteer was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 for starting that fire. As part of a plea agreement, he admitted to starting the Mine Fire in exchange for the U.S. Attorney’s Office dropping charges against him relating to two other fires started in 2013 in the El Dorado/Amador County area.

Before that sentence Cunha was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to 365 days in prison, for setting at least 30 other fires in El Dorado and Amador counties between 2005 and 2007, according to past reporting by wildfiretoday.com. Cunha admitted to setting many of the fires using a time-delay incendiary device.