A 40-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested Nov. 27 after private security guards reported seeing a man setting multiple fires in the South Park district of downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
Patrol officers responded to Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard and arrested Miguel Abad Muñoz near Hope Street north of Washington Boulevard. He was charged with arson and his bail was set at $50,000. Officers reported recovering a small black butane lighter during the arrest.
An investigation revealed eight sites where property, including loose trash and other debris, was intentionally set on fire, according to the LAPD.
Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded to ensure all fires were extinguished. LAFD arson investigators are also helping with the ongoing investigation.
“Right now, we can’t confirm that. But he’s being investigated for other arsons,” LAPD spokesman Officer Charles Miller told The Epoch Times.
State Fire Marshal Chief Daniel Berlant announced Nov. 13 the I-10 fire was set intentionally. Fire investigators have since been combing the area and interviewing homeless people and business owners in the ongoing investigation, he said.
Mr. Berlant did not have an update on the identification of suspects in connection to the arson investigation Tuesday, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told The Epoch Times.
