*NEWS RELEASE*
OYLER RELATIVE SOUGHT AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH JURY TAMPERING

RIVERSIDE - Christopher Vaughn Hillman, the brother-in-law of convicted murderer and death row inmate Raymond Lee Oyler, has been charged with seven felony counts of tampering with a juror. His current whereabouts are unknown.

In October 2006, Raymond Lee Oyler started the deadly Esperanza Fire in the Cabazon pass burning more than 41,000 acres, destroying 34 residences and killing five U.S. Forest Service firefighters. Oyler was charged with five counts of special circumstance first-degree murder for the death of each firefighter. In May 2007, District Attorney Rod Pacheco decided to seek the death penalty. Killed in the Esperanza Fire were Pablo Cerda, 23; Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20; Mark Loutzenhiser, 43; Jason McKay, 27; and Jess McLean, 27.

From January through March 2009, a jury trial was held to determine if Oyler would be convicted of murder and sentenced to death. At its conclusion, a Riverside County jury convicted Oyler of five counts of murder and recommended he face the death penalty. The Honorable Judge W. Charles Morgan sentenced Oyler to death on June 5, 2009.

During the trial, on or about Feb. 26, 2009, Hillman, 46, prepared and delivered flyers to all of the vehicles in the County of Riverside juror parking lots. The flyers were copies of newspaper articles describing various pre-trial rulings by Judge Morgan in the case of People v. Raymond Lee Oyler which prohibited the defense from introducing certain evidence. The flyers were discovered by three of the jurors in Oyler's trial during the noon recess and Riverside County sheriff's deputies located four more flyers on the windshields of other jurors in the case.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office began an investigation to determine who was responsible for tampering with the jury in a very significant death penalty case. The investigation narrowed in on Hillman and investigators served a search warrant at his residence.

During the execution of the search warrant, Hillman fled his residence and has not been located since. Inside the home, investigators found strong evidence linking Hillman to the flyers and filed jury tampering charges against him on August 7, 2009. Despite several attempts by investigators to locate Hillman, or negotiate his surrender with family members, he remains out of custody.

"Our judicial system must be protected and defended from those who may seek to corrupt it," said District Attorney Rod Pacheco. "Tampering with jurors is one of the single greatest threats to our system. Fortunately, we were able to achieve justice in the case of Raymond Lee Oyler in spite of this man's attempts to derail it."

This case is being prosecuted by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Michael J. Cabral. A $100,000 warrant has been issued for Hillman's arrest. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to contact the District Attorney's Office at (951) 955-5400.