Press release from the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office: Derek Steven McCormack, 31, of Covelo, was sentenced Tuesday to state prison for an arson on the home of a Potter Valley family in August 2019. McCormack in August of last year was convicted by plea in Mendocino County Superior Court of having committed arson of an inhabited residence, a felony. The defendant also admitted as true a sentencing enhancement that the arson was perpetrated during a declared fire state of emergency. Judge Keith Faulder denied McCormack’s bid for a sentenced of supervised probation after having reviewed the Probation Department’s background study and sentencing recommendation which recommended a state prison commitment be imposed. The court also received a state prison recommendation following a diagnostic review by the staff at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The focus was on whether the defendant posed an unreasonable threat and danger to the community, an evaluation.