Two suspects charged over LA arson spree
Two men have been charged over a spree of more than 50 arson attacks which kept Hollywood on edge over the New Year holiday, Los Angeles police has said after a fourth night of fires.
A new suspect, named as 55-year-old Alejandro Pineta, was arrested in the early hours, following the detention of a 22-year-old, identified as Samuel Arrington, shortly after the attacks started last week, police said yesterday.
The two men were both charged with arson and held in custody, Pineta in lieu of USD 50,000 bail and Arrington in lieu of USD 75,000, said Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) commander Michael Moriarty.
In all the 53 deliberately-set fires in Hollywood and surrounding parts of Los Angeles caused more than USD 2 million in damage, added an LA Fire Department spokesman, Jaime Moore.
LAPD chief Charlie Beck, speaking before Pineta was named as a second person charged, said: "I feel very good that we've got the right guy .. The suspect had the right stuff in his van, and we are very confident we found our man." The announcements came after 16 new fires during a roughly two-hour period in the early hours yesterday, following nearly 40 over the previous three nights.
"To date, these fires have caused well in excess of USD 2 million in damage to vehicles and to structures," Moore said, adding: "Fortunately there has been no loss of life."
Federal investigators have been called in to help the probe of the string of arson attacks, one of the worst crime sprees in the city since the 1992 race riots. Police on Sunday asked residents to leave their porch and car port lights on overnight, after some 40 fires were set over three nights including New Year's Eve.
A suspect caught on camera after a blaze in a parking lot near Hollywood's main tourist area was believed to be in his late 20s to early 30s, with a receding hairline and dark hair worn in a ponytail, police said.
Amateur video caught the blaze in the basement of the Hollywood and Highland center, near Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where tourists flock to see celebrity handprints and the Walk of Fame stars.
