CORONA - The brother-in-law of convicted arsonist-murderer Raymond Lee Oyler may get a second shot at trying to prove his innocence on charges that he attempted to influence jurors in the former Beaumont mechanic's trial.

Christopher Vaughn Hillman, 48, was convicted by a Corona jury on July 14 of seven counts of jury tampering. He remains free on $250,000 bail.

Hillman was slated to be sentenced this morning, but Riverside County Superior Court Judge Larrie Brainard decided to postpone the hearing to Sept. 3. He said he had doubts that the defendant had received effective assistance of counsel, leaving open the possibility that a new trial could be granted.

Hillman did not ask for a new attorney and told the judge he could not afford to pay for one, prompting Brainard to appoint a county-funded lawyer to consult with the defendant about whether he should file a motion for a new trial.

"I've never seen that happen before," Deputy District Attorney Tim Cross said outside the courtroom.

Nancy Lord, Hillman's current attorney, declined to comment. The defendant left the courtroom in tears, saying nothing.

If the Hesperia man decides against requesting a new trial, he is expected to be sentenced to 210 days in county jail and three years probation.

Hillman could have faced a maximum seven years in state prison, and in a written statement to the court, the prosecution argued that the case warranted at least some prison time.

"The defendant attempted to tamper with our fellow citizens who were doing their duty as duly sworn jurors," Cross stated in the brief. "This crime is worse than other instances of the same crime because the jury was serving on a death penalty case involving the murder of five firefighters.

"As a result of the defendant's actions ... a Advertisement

[ Chatton and Associates ] mistrial could have potentially occurred, upsetting months of work and public expense," the prosecutor wrote. "The court should send a message, in no uncertain terms, that tampering with our jurors by the families of defendants will not be tolerated."

Hillman, who is married to Oyler's sister, Jennifer, was arrested almost exactly a year ago, roughly five months after Oyler was convicted of igniting the 41,000-acre Esperanza wildfire, which killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters trying to defend a home near Idyllwild on Oct. 26, 2006.

Oyler also was convicted of lighting around two dozen other fires in the Banning Pass that year and was sentenced to death.

In late February 2009, during Oyler's two-month trial, Hillman placed fliers of newspaper articles about the case on numerous vehicles in county parking spaces reserved for jurors in downtown Riverside, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The articles concerned Judge W. Charles Morgan's decision to bar the defense from introducing evidence of possible third-party culpability in the case.

Oyler's attorneys had wanted to argue that a former federal firefighter could have started some of the fires blamed on their client.

During a search of Hillman's residence, investigators found the original two-page document used to make the photocopies left on jurors' vehicles.

Cross introduced evidence showing that fingerprints recovered from four of the fliers matched Hillman's prints.

Lord argued her client "had absolutely nothing to do with (jury tampering)."

She said Hillman was driving home in his pickup truck on Interstate 15 when he discovered the fliers, several of which blew into his face.

"Somebody put those leaflets in his truck," the attorney insisted.

Three Oyler jurors discovered fliers on their windshields during the arsonist's trial, and sheriff's deputies located fliers on other vehicles parked in the same general location, according to court papers.