A Bakersfield man has been sentenced to four months in the Ventura County Jail for his role in city code violations that resulted in a man's death during a fire in an overcrowded house on Cochran Street.

Carlos Urizar, 35, pled guilty to five Building and Safety Code violations relating to the property he rented from Ronald Cisneros, including illegally converting the home's garage into two bedrooms. It is believed at least 14 people were living in the threebedroom house when the fire erupted in January 2005.

As a result of the fire, Osmar Rosales, a 22-year-old Simi Valley man, was critically burned and subsequently died of his injuries. Rosales' girlfriend, 19year-old Marisol Urbina, and their young child, were also burned in the fire.

City attorney David Hirsch said he was satisfied with the sentence handed down by Judge Kevin McGee. In addition to jail time, Urizar was given a $500 fine and three years of informal probation. He begins his jail sentence June 5.

"We certainly felt under the circumstances a significant penalty was appropriate," Hirsch said. "This matter was sent for a formal probation report to the Ventura County probation agency, which recommended that there be jail time given considering the seriousness of the circumstances, and the fact that there was a death involved."

Commenting on the sentence, Mayor Paul Miller noted that the city was in the process of developing programs to address the problems created by overcrowded housing, illegal garage conversion and other Building and Safety violations.

"The death of Mr. Rosales was certainly tragic, and it is important for people to know that the city will aggressively pursue these kind of violations, including criminal prosecution when necessary," Miller said.

The city originally filed criminal misdemeanor charges under the Simi Valley Municipal Code against Cisneros, the home's owner, related to the violations. In December 2005, Cisneros pled guilty to five misdemeanors, and also provided information to investigators that led them to Urizar, who was living in Bakersfield at the time.

Urizar had rented the property from Cisneros since November 1997, paying $1,500 a month in rent. Assistant city attorney Stephen Millich, who prosecuted the case, said the city was unable to prove in court that Urizar had been turning a profit from all the rent he collected-although that was prosecution's belief.

"If we could have proved he was receiving an amount of money more than he was paying in rent to Mr. Cisneros, than I think he would received a much more substantial sentence," Millich said.

Cisneros' sentencing has been continued until May 9. Because

of his cooperation with investigators, it is likely he will face a lighter punishment than Urizar.