Recently in arson Category
Demetrius Newborn, 35, of Pasadena was booked on suspicion of arson, Pasadena police Lt. Rodney D. Wallace said.
Newborn is accused of entering the Pasadena Police Department lobby, 207. N. Gafield Ave., about 10 p.m. Monday, "with a small bottle of flammable liquid," the lieutenant said.
Wallace said Newborn then soaked a piece of paper in the liquid, dropped it on an upholstered chair and set in on fire.
Officers quickly stamped out the fire before it spread and arrested Newborn, he added.
A motive in the alleged arson wasn't clear Wednesday, Sgt. Marie Sell said.
He said nothing prior to starting the fire, she said, and has not been willing to speak with police.
According to Sell and Los Angeles County Superior Court records, this is the second time Newborn has been accused of trying to torch the Pasadena Police Department.
He was charged with attempted arson in late 2008 after attempting the same type of arson at the Pasadena Police Department, along with a burglary charge.
The attempted arson charge was ultimately dismissed, records show, though he was convicted of the burglary.
According to sheriff's booking records, Newborn was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail at the Pasadena Police Department's jail. Information was not available regarding his initial court appearance.
SANTA CLARITA -- One of two 14-year-old boys arrested on suspicion of arson was allegedly smoking marijuana when he accidentally started a brush fire today near Saugus that scorched 43 acres and prompted evacuations, a sheriff's sergeant said.
The fire was reported around 2 p.m. near Copper Hill Drive and Haskell Canyon Road, said Supervisor Michael Pittman of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
By 5 p.m., the fire had spread to about 43 acres and was 50 percent contained, Pittman said.
Initial reports indicated structures were threatened, and later, 31 homes were ordered evacuated, said Parker.
The evacuations were later canceled, and no structures were damaged, although the flames licked at some backyards.
The two juvenile arson suspects were arrested in the 21100 block of Altena Drive, near where the fire is believed to have started, said Capt. Mike Parker of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
One was taken into custody on suspicion of arson and the other was arrested and then released.
Sheriff's deputies believe the fire began when one of the boys was smoking marijuana in a pipe and dropped the 8-inch barbecue iron he was using to light the pot in the dry brush, Parker said.
They apparently tried to put out the fire, but ran away when it began to spread, he said.
Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Arson/Explosives Detail filed a petition seeking a charge against the young suspect, Detective Tim Wainscott said. The teen's city of residency was not available.
"What we filed this morning was recklessly causing a fire," the detective said.
The prosecutor will have the discretion to look at the facts of the case and decide whether an arson charge is appropriate, he added. Both crimes are felonies.
The court was closed Wednesday and no formal charges were filed, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said. That will likely take place Thursday.
The suspect was not in custody, officials added.
The teenage suspect is not suspected of being responsible for the 3-week-old Station Fire, which officials said has scorched more than 160,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest and was 91 percent contained Wednesday.
Though the fires ignited one day apart and both have been ruled to be arson, Wainscott said there is no connection.
"This is absolutely not connected to the Station Fire in any way, shape or form," he said.
The Morris Fire started near the Morris Dam on Aug. 25 and grew to 2,168 acres before firefighters achieved full containment of the blaze on Sept. 3. At it's height, more than 1,600 firefighters battled the Morris Fire.
Wainscott said the teenage suspect was spotted in the area around the time the fire started, which was about 2:30 p.m.
Investigators interviewed him the day the fire first ignited, Wainscott said, and had considered him a "person of interest" in the fire ever since.
The detective declined to discuss how specifically authorities believe the fire started, deferring all questions to the District Attorney's office.
The prosecutor handling the case could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and Robison said no further information was available.
***UPDATE: The Governor has upped the ante by offering a $100,000 reward for the arsonist responsible for the Station Fire.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich announced Friday he plans to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist responsible for the Station Fire, officials said.
After the fire was determined to be caused by arson Thursday, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau opened up a homicide investigation into the deaths of two Los Angeles County firefighters who died battling the blaze.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote on the motion to offer the reward Tuesday at the next scheduled meeting, Antonovich spokesman Tony Bell said in a written statement.
Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, and Firefighter Specialist Arnaldo Quinones, 34, died Sunday when there vehicle went over the side of a cliff while fighting the Station Fire near Mt. Gleason.
A memorial service for Hall and Quinones is scheduled for Sept. 12 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.
Donations for the family's of the fallen firefighters are being accepted through the the F&A Federal Credit "Memorial Fund," at P.O. Box 30831, Los Angeles, Calif., 90030-9972, authorities said.
Donations for Hall's family can be sent to account No. 617171. Donations for Quinones' family can be sent to account No. 617172. Donations for both families can be deposited into account No. 617170.
Anyone with information about the arsonist responsible for the Station Fire is asked to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
PHOTOS: Above: Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47. Below: Firefighter specialist Arnaldo Quinones, 34. (courtesy)
Investigators said today the Station Fire, the largest fire ever in Los Angeles County history, has been ruled arson.
At an evening briefing, officials said they made the determination after a forensic examination of the origin of the fire.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's department homicide bureau has initiated a homicide investigation, officials said.
Homicide was called because two firefighters died in the blaze.



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