Raymond Lee Oyler, the man arrested yesterday on suspicion of setting two small fires in Riverside County earlier this year, was charged today with setting the October fire near Palm Springs and the murders of five firemen who died fighting it. While there are at least two special circumstances which qualify the crime as a death penalty offense, the District Attorney says he'll consult with the victims' families before making a decision according to a Los Angeles Times story by Maeve Reston and Michael Muskal.

Criminal Roundup U.S. Marshals and local police across the United States took over 10,000 sex offenders, gang members, and other criminal fugitives into custody during a seven-day around-the-clock sweep called Operation Falcon III as reported by Erica Estep of WATE in Knoxville, TN.

Deterrence 101 A man who served 26 years in a Kansas prison for the 1979 murder of a five-year-old boy and the attempted murder of his mother, was charged Thursday morning with murdering 16-year-old Stephanie Wagner in Indiana, as reported by WNDU TV. The girl's body was found in a Logansport cornfield Wednesday evening. Details reported in a WNBC story indicate that the suspect, Danny Rouse, has confessed to the murder and told local police where to find the body. Fortunately for Mr. Rouse, Kansas stopped enforcing its death penalty in 1976. Tough luck for his new victim.