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SANTA ANA – Prosecutors have charged a UC Irvine associate professor, whose son they say committed suicide after being disciplined at school, with setting five arson fires, three of them at University High School in Irvine, one at a park, and one at an assistant principal’s home.

An arraignment hearing for Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, 48, of Irvine was continued Tuesday until Aug. 8.

Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin ordered Reinscheid held without bail after prosecutors said he posed a threat to the community, based on emails the Irvine Police Department reportedly discovered in which the professor outlined plans to kill unnamed students and specific administrators at the high school, among other acts.

Reinscheid, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, is charged with two felony counts of arson of another’s property, two counts of arson of a structure, one count of arson of an inhabited residence, one count of attempted arson, and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Reinscheid appeared in Orange County Jail mustard-colored clothing and softly answered “yes” when Griffin asked if he agreed to the continued arraignment. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 12 years and eight months in state prison.

In March, Reinscheid’s 14-year-old son, who attended University High, was given trash pickup duties after he was caught stealing an item from University High’s parent-run student store, according to prosecutors and Irvine Unified spokesman Ian Hanigan.

Later that month, the boy committed suicide at Mason Park Preserve in Irvine.

Hanigan described Reinscheid as extremely distraught over the loss of his son, but said Reinscheid did not threaten or behave aggressively toward University High staff in the wake of his son’s suicide. In fact, school officials did not connect Reinscheid to the arson fire at the University High administrator’s home until after Reinscheid’s arrest, Hanigan said.

But law enforcement authorities say Reinscheid’s acts appear to be driven by the discipline and suicide.

“(The fires) appear directly related to the feelings of anger that he had over the treatment of his son, which he believed led to his son killing himself,” Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz said at a news conference after the arraignment.

“Based on the location and nature of the arsons, we believe the defendant was specifically targeting the people and places he believed were related to his son’s discipline,” District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Farrah Emami said. “The emails are very alarming and lay out in graphic detail his plans to murder administrators and students at the high school.”

Law enforcement officials believe Reinscheid acted alone and is the only defendant and suspect in this case, the District Attorney’s statement said.

Reinscheid’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reinscheid is accused of setting the fires and attempting arson between July 4 and July 24 by lighting various objects on fire, including newspapers, fireplace logs, brush and vegetation, a book and a plastic porch chair. All the fires were set late at night or early morning, stayed relatively small and caused minor damage, prosecutors said.

At about 12:40 a.m. July 24, Irvine officers on increased patrols of the park due to the recent arsons, observed Reinscheid attempting to set a fire in Mason Park Preserve using newspaper and lighter fluid, and arrested him, according to prosecutors.

Reinscheid refused to comply with police orders to stop and attempted to resist arrest, prosecutors said. He posted $50,000 bail and was released from custody that day.

Irvine continued its investigation. On Friday, detectives reportedly discovered the emails on Reinscheid’s cell phone.

Reinscheid is accused of sending emails to his wife and to himself in April 2012 describing in detail his plan to burn down University High, commit sexual assaults, purchase firearms and kill school officials and students, and then kill himself.

The emails have not been released.

Prosecutors said they could not speculate on why his wife did not report the emails to authorities; the emails did not specify when the attacks would be carried out.

No charges stem from the emails because the criminal threats were not communicated to any potential victims, D.A. spokeswoman Emami said.

“The emails themselves do not support a criminal charge but support a need to hold him without bail,” she said.

Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen said authorities had served search warrants on Reinscheid’s Irvine home and UCI office. No weapons were found at either location, she said.

After the email review and based on Reinscheid’s alleged links to additional arsons, he was rearrested Friday evening.

Reinscheid holds joint appointments to UCI’s biological sciences department and medical school, according to his biography posted on the university’s website.

His research interests included psychiatric disorders, and his UCI lab was studying molecules involved in stress, emotional behavior, memory, and sleep and wakefulness. He was a co-author of at least 24 published research papers.

Reinscheid earned his Ph.D. in the neurobiology of invertebrates in Hamburg, Germany, in 1993, according to his biography.

He earned $87,016 in 2010, the most recent year for which salary information is available, according to University of California pay records.

UC Irvine spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon confirmed Tuesday that Reinscheid remained a professor at the university. But she declined to comment on whether he had been put on leave, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters.

“The university takes safety seriously and is cooperating fully with authorities regarding this matter,” according to a statement issued by UCI on Tuesday afternoon.

“Our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragic chain of events. As you can imagine with any personnel or legal matter, we cannot provide extensive information. We can assure you, however, that our campus will continue to do everything possible to foster a safe environment for our faculty, students and staff,” the statement said.

Hanigan declined to identify the assistant principal targeted by the arson fire by name but confirmed that the administrator had disciplined Reinscheid’s son in the days leading up to the teen’s suicide. Hanigan described the boy’s actions as a “fairly minor offense with fairly minor discipline.”

Hanigan said the assistant principal was on vacation and school district officials had not yet been able to reach him.

“I think this came as a shock to a lot of us,” Hanigan said. “We will continue to work closely with the Irvine Police Department and continue to aid in their investigation, and do everything we can to keep students and staff safe.”

Contact the writer: vjolly@ocregister.com or smartindale@ocregister.com