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Tag Archives: arson

A person of interest in a 2019 arson incident has been arrested by the SAPD

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Arrestee: Isaiah Emmanuel Castillo (33)

A person of interest in an arson case dating back to 12/01/2019 was identified as Isaiah Castillo and is in custody, charged with 4 counts of arson.

ORIGINAL MESSAGE –

Description: Male, Hispanic, 5’6”, medium build, eyeglasses, dark hooded sweatshirt and pants, dark/light colored shoes, light colored backpack.

On 12/01/2019 at 5:30 AM, an unknown suspect intentionally lit a door on fire at a hotel located in the 100 block of East MacArthur Blvd. This unidentified suspect is a person of interest in this arson investigation.

Video Surveillance:

Anyone with information identifying the suspect in this case is asked to contact Detective A. Castro at (714) 245-8345 or acastro@santa-ana.org.

A female sex offender pleaded guilty to setting the Saddleback Lodge on fire

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Carrie Marie Immel

Carrie Marie Immel, a 41-year-old convicted sex offender, pleaded guilty Tuesday to setting a three-alarm fire in at the Saddleback Lodge apartment building at 1655 E. First St., just after midnight on July 11, that severely injured a 30-year-old man, according to the O.C. Register.

Eight to 10 apartments were damaged or destroyed in that fire, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Continue reading→

A Santa Ana man was burned over 60% of his body in an arson fire

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A Santa Ana resident, Mark Rojas, 30-years-old, was badly burned in his apartment, at the Santa Ana Saddleback Lodge, in a fire believed to have been arson, according to ABC News.

The fire happened in the early morning hours of July 11. Rojas was burned over 60 percent of his body and was in critical condition with third degree burns. He also injured his respiratory system and had to be intubated immediately. Continue reading→

Homeless man arrested for setting fires in Santiago Creek

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Gustavo Garcia

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SANTA ANA PD AND OCFA ARREST ARSON SUSPECT FOR ALLEGEDLY SETTING INTENTIONAL FIRES ALONG SANTIAGO CREEK

ARRESTED: Gustavo Garcia (26) Homeless

CHARGES: PC 451(c) & (d) Arson – Felony

At a Public Safety Committee Meeting on July 10, 2018 residents of neighborhoods adjacent to Jack Fisher Park creekbed expressed concern regarding ongoing, reported fires in the area. Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) detectives working with Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) investigators were already monitoring these reported incidents to establish if there was an ongoing series. Following the meeting, SAPD and OCFA formulated an immediate action plan that included, 24/7 monitoring of the area by police personnel along with fire investigators. SAPD and OCFA also worked collaboratively with the Orange Police and Fire Departments, as two fire incidents were reported in their city and possibly related to this series. According to reports from OCFA, there were four fires that appeared to have been intentionally set in the Jack Fisher Park and Santiago Creek area on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. Continue reading→

An allegedly homeless woman was arrested on suspicion of starting a fire in Santa Ana

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The same week that an Orange County Judge stopped the County of Orange from removing the homeless from the Santa Ana River trail, Marilyn Fajardo, a 26-year-old allegedly homeless woman was arrested in Santa Ana on suspicion of starting a fire that burned a tree, a storage container and two semi-truck trailers, according to the SAPD.

Witnesses told the SAPD that Fajardo had been seen at the scene at the fire, with a lighter. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man charged with attempted murder and arson after attack on a homeless pair

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 18CF0326

Date: January 30, 2018

MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ARSON FOR SETTING FIRE TO TENT WITH HOMELESS MAN AND WOMAN INSIDE

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was charged with attempted murder and arson for setting fire to a tent with a homeless man and woman inside in Santa Ana.

Defendant: James Anthony Lawlor, 35, Santa Ana

Charged on Jan. 26, 2018, with the following felony counts: Continue reading→

Santa Ana man arrested for allegedly a couple and burning their tent

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Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Detectives And OCFA Arson Investigators Make An Arrest In Attempted Murder/Arson Case

Suspect/Arrested: James Anthony Lawlor (35) Santa Ana

On Friday, 01/19/2018 at 8:20 am, SAPD officers responded to the vacant lot in the 1300 block of West Tolliver for a tent fire. Officers located the fire and two victims, one male and one female, who advised they were inside their tent when the suspect, who they described as male Hispanic, 35-40 years old, wearing black slacks and a black coat, approached their tent. The suspect then told the occupants they had 15 minutes to leave the area or he would return with his Glock handgun. The male occupant in the tent stuck his head out to talk to the suspect and was immediately kicked twice on the head by the suspect. Continue reading→

SAPD and OCFA investigators are looking for suspects who are setting vehicles on fire

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SAPD police investigators are looking for suspects in two reported vehicle fires in Santa Ana, according to the O.C. Register.

The first incident happened this Thursday at around 10:25 p.m. when a man reported that his 2017 Lexus, which he had parked at the 1800 block of West Pendleton Avenue (just East of Adams Park) had caught fire, according to the SAPD. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man charged with burning down his house after a divorce dispute

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Fire at the 1000 block of W. Washington Avenue in Santa Ana

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 17CF0551

Date: March 6, 2017

MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR SETTING FAMILY’S HOUSE ON FIRE AFTER DISPUTE

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man is scheduled to be arraigned today for setting his family’s house on fire after a dispute with the other occupants. Jose Luis Martinez Jr., 34, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of arson of an inhabited property and one felony count of unlawfully causing fire to an inhabited structure. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison. The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned today, March 6, 2017, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined. Continue reading→

Man upset about a divorce arrested after allegedly burning down a house in Santa Ana

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Fire at the 1000 block of W. Washington Avenue in Santa Ana

Jose Luis Martinez, 34, was arrested and booked on two counts of arson after the SAPD alleged that he set his own two-story house on fire last night, at the 1000 block of Washington Avenue on fire, at around 8 p.m., according to the O.C. Register.

The house was a total loss, according to the OCFA. Continue reading→

Firemen battling a blaze at a home in Santa Ana’s Washington Square Neighborhood

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A massive house fire began at about 8 p.m. at the 1000 block of W. Washington Avenue, in Santa Ana’s Washington Square Neighborhood, according to the O.C. Register.

Thirty OCFA and Orange firefighters fought the blaze according to the OCDA.

A man upset over a recent divorce burned down the house, according to ABC News.

Continue reading→

Man charged with murdering two women in Westminster and setting their house on fire

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Case # 17WF0007

Date: January 20, 2017

MAN ARRAIGNED FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES MURDER OF TWO WOMEN AND SETTING FIRE TO HOUSE AFTER REMOVING BODIES

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was arraigned today for the special circumstances murder of two women and setting fire to the victim’s house after removing the bodies. Christopher Ken Ireland, 37, Huntington Beach, was charged on Jan. 4, 2017, with two felony counts of special circumstances murder with sentencing enhancements for multiple murders, one felony count of arson of an inhabited property, and one felony count of aggravated mayhem. If convicted, Ireland faces a minimum sentence of life in state prison without parole. He is being held withoutbail and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Feb. 16, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-1, West Justice Center, Westminster.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2017, Ireland is accused of attending a New Year’s Eve party at 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey’s home in Westminster. At approximately 1:20 a.m., with his family waiting outside, the defendant is accused of murdering both Holtrey and her friend, 49-year-old Michelle Luke, inside the home by striking them each multiple times with a sharp instrument. Ireland is accused of disfiguring Luke’s ear during the attack. The defendant is accused of leaving the victims’ bodies in the home and driving away from the scene. Continue reading→

An arsonist set several small fires in Santa Ana so he could rob a fire station

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3D9bRibrBk%20

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Detectives Request Media And Public Assistance In Identifying Arson Suspect In Fire Station Burglary

Locations: Orange County Fire Station # 72, 1688 E. 4th Street Santa Ana, CA

Synopsis: On 12/18/16, the Santa Ana Police Department responded to the report of a burglary at the Orange County Fire Authority Fire Station #72 located at 1688 East 4th Street. The subsequent investigation revealed that arson fires were set in nearby neighborhoods to draw firefighters away from the station allowing the burglar(s) to enter the station as the fire engine left to fight the fire. Continue reading→

Woman charged with setting fires at two Santa Ana stores so she could steal goods

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Erika Rubi Hernandez Valeriano, a 41-year-old transient woman, pleaded not guilty today to two charges of arson, after she allegedly set fires in two stores while she stole shopping carts loaded with goods, according to the O.C. Register.

The first arson/shoplifting crime happened on Oct. 4, 2015 at the Santa Ana Walmart that is located at 3600 W. McFadden Ave. and the second crime happened on May 30 at the El Super Market located at 2445 S. Bristol St., according to the OCFA. Continue reading→

Drunk homeless man arrested after starting a brush fire at Santiago Park

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Martin Alonso Cea, a 33-year-old drunk homeless man, was arrested on Monday night after lighting vegetation on fire inside Santiago Park, according to the O.C. Register.

Cea, 33, was seen by two people around 8:10 p.m. inside the park at 2535 N. Main St. just before he intentionally started a brush fire near the creek bed, according to the SAPD. Continue reading→