Over the course of the last few months, someone has allegedly been placing incendiary devices on the property of fire station 805 in Capitol Heights, Maryland.
The person is dressed in black pants and wearing a unique jacket from the “Members Only” brand with red letters that say “Tom and Jerry” and a cartoon bulldog with a caption that reads “1 bad boy.”
(Courtesy Prince George’s County Police)
Courtesy Prince George’s County Police
The video shows a person carrying what appears to be Molotov cocktails and placing them at the base of a flagpole and in a mailbox.
(Courtesy Prince George’s County Police)
Courtesy Prince George’s County Police
Officials held a news conference on Aug. 27, 2025, to ask for the public’s help in locating a suspect.
(WTOP/Alan Etter)
WTOP/Alan Etter
Officials in Prince George’s County said it has happened three times over the past “few months.” They did not want to be specific about dates and times for fear of compromising the investigation.
(WTOP/Alan Etter)
WTOP/Alan Etter
Over the course of the last few months, someone has allegedly been placing incendiary devices on the property of Fire Station 805 in Capitol Heights, Maryland.
Officials in Prince George’s County said it has happened three times over the past few months. They did not specify dates and times for fear of compromising the investigation.
During a news conference Wednesday, police, along with officials from the Prince George’s County Fire & EMS Department, the Capitol Heights Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, released information, including a video that officials said shows a suspect committing the crimes on Aug. 13.
The video shows a person carrying what appears to be Molotov cocktails and placing them at the base of a flagpole and in a mailbox.
He’s dressed in black pants and wearing a unique jacket from the “Members Only” brand with red letters that say “Tom and Jerry” and a cartoon bulldog with a caption that reads “1 bad boy.”
“We were very fortunate to get very, very good pictures and video of the suspect,” said Assistant Fire Chief Carroll Spriggs. “And so now, we have a great opportunity to get that person in and to question him.”
There have been no other such incidents at any other county fire stations, and Spriggs believes the Capitol Heights station is being specifically targeted in order to intimidate the personnel there.
No one has been injured from the devices.
Officials are particularly interested in catching the suspect because the areas in which the devices have placed are accessible by the public. Schools are located nearby, and there is concern a child might come in contact with one of the devices.
A $7,500 reward is being offered for information leading to a conviction.
Officials are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Solvers online, the “P3 Tips” mobile app or call 866-411-8477.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
Melbourne, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of organizing two antisemitic attacks in Australia and said the country was cutting off diplomatic relations with Tehran in response on Tuesday.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organization concluded the Iranian government had directed arson attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food company, in Sydney in October last year and on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December last year, Albanese said.
Iran’s government denied the allegations.
There has been a steep rise in antisemitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.
Australian authorities have previously said they suspect that foreign actors are paying local criminals-for-hire to carry out attacks in the country.
Member of Parliament Josh Burns walks past the damaged Adass Israel Synagogue, Dec. 10, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the synagogue forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building.
Asanka Ratnayake/Getty
Sayed Mohammed Moosawi, a 32-year-old Sydney-based former chapter president of the Nomads biker gang, has been charged with directing the fire bombings of the Sydney café as well as the nearby Curly Lewis Brewery. The brewery was apparently confused for the café and mistakenly targeted three days earlier for an antisemitic attack.
Giovanna Laulu, a 21-year-old man from Melbourne, was charged last month with being one of three masked arsonists who caused extensive damage to the synagogue in December.
A second alleged arsonist, a 20-year-old man also from Melbourne, is expected to appear in court Wednesday, a police statement said. He has not been publicly named.
“ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion,” Albanese told reporters. “The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” he said. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable.”
Debris is strewn at the burnt-out Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 9, 2024.
YUMI ROSENBAUM/AP
Shortly before the announcement, the Australian government told Iran’s Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi that he will be expelled. It also withdrew Australian diplomats posted in Iran to a third country, Albanese said.
An alert to Australians in Iran noted the embassy’s closure and urged them to “strongly consider leaving as soon as possible, if it is safe to do so.”
“Foreigners in Iran, including Australians and dual Australian-Iranian nationals, are at a high risk of arbitrary detention or arrest,” the warning read.
Australia updated its warning to travelers to its highest level: “Do not travel” to Iran.
Iran has a long history of detaining Westerners or those with ties abroad to use as bargaining chips in negotiations.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Canberra would keep some diplomatic lines open to Tehran to advance Australia’s interests. She added that it was the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
Albanese said that Australia will legislate to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.
Australia’s law makes providing support to a listed terrorist organization a crime. The government has previously rejected calls to list the Revolutionary Guard under existing terrorism laws because it is a government entity.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has been accused of carrying out attacks abroad over the decades of its existence, though it broadly denies any involvement. The Guard’s Quds, or Jerusalem, Force is its expeditionary arm and is accused by Western nations of using local militants and criminals in the past to target dissidents and Israelis abroad.
The U.S., during the first Trump administration in 2019, formally designated the Guard a foreign terrorist organization, accusing it not only facilitating, but perpetrating terrorism.
A spokesperson for the Executive Council of Australian Jewry welcomed the terrorist designation for the Revolutionary Guard, adding in a statement that the group was “outraged” that a foreign actor was behind the crimes.
“Foremost, these were attacks that deliberately targeted Jewish Australians, destroyed a sacred house of worship, caused millions of dollars of damage, and terrified our community,” the statement said.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israel has arrested several people on charges they had been paid or encouraged by Iran to carry out vandalism and monitor potential targets there.
Iran denied Australia’s allegations through its Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who tried to link it to the challenges Australia faced with Israel after announcing it would recognize a Palestinian state.
“It looks like the action, which is against Iran, diplomacy and the relations between the two nations, is a compensation for the criticism that the Australians had against the Zionist regime,” Baghaei claimed.
The move against Iran came a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Albanese a “weak politician who had betrayed Israel” by recognizing a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu’s extraordinary public rebuke on social media came after an Aug. 11 announcement by Albanese that his government’s recognition of a Palestinian state will be formalized at the United Nations General Assembly in September. That announcement was followed by tit-for-tat cancellations of visas for Australian and Israeli officials.
Albanese previously resisted calls to expel Iran’s envoy to Canberra before, analysts said, including in 2024 when Sadeghi was summoned for meetings with foreign ministry officials over his social media posts.
Michael Shoebridge, a former Australian defense and security official and director of the think tank Strategic Analysis Australia, said he didn’t believe the move was prompted by Israel’s complaints.
“I don’t think that’s a matter of Australia-Israel relations, but a matter of community cohesion here in Australia,” he said.
Neither ASIO director-general Mike Burgess nor Albanese explained what evidence there was of Iranian involvement.
Burgess said no Iranian diplomats in Australia were involved.
“This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cut-out facilitators to coordinators that found their way to tasking Australians,” Burgess said.
While antisemitic incidents increased in Australian after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7 2023, Iran was responsible for a transition in October last year when the violence more directly targeted people, businesses and places of worship, Burgess said.
A body was found Friday in the ruins of a San Rafael apartment complex destroyed in a fire on Thursday, authorities said.
Investigators have not confirmed whether the remains found were one of the two people listed as missing following the fire.
Earlier Friday, authorities said that investigators looking into the cause of the fire said investigators are now treating the fire as suspicious in nature. The fire at the three-story complex on Canal Street injured several people and displaced dozens of residents.
All 19 units at the complex were destroyed, officials said.
A fire investigator enters the rubble of a San Rafael apartment building destroyed by fire, August 22. 2025.
KPIX
“As of this morning, based on preliminary information obtained by the Marin County Fire investigation team, the cause of this fire is changing from unknown to suspicious,” said San Rafael Deputy Fire Chief Robert Sinnott at a press conference Friday morning.
San Rafael police Sgt. Justin Graham said that the fire was suspicious based on how the fire burned and how fast it burned.
“We will make every effort to get answers, as our first priority is to be able to provide those answers to the victims that were affected, said Graham. “But it’s going to take some time, and as we go through this process, we ask for patience.”
Graham said investigators had to wait to fully enter the building because it was unstable after being gutted by the fire. Cadaver dogs were being used to help find the missing residents, while other canines were being deployed to search for traces of any accelerants.
The Marin County Fire Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation, Graham said.
One person who was seriously injured in the fire and two others who suffered non-serious injuries were taken to a hospital. Five others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
One officer was minorly injured during the operation to rescue residents during the fire; he was expected to recover and return to work shortly, Graham said.
Members of the public who had any information about the fire or who may have cellphone video to contact authorities.Anyone seeking to help displaced residents was urged to provide cash donations or gift cards, which can be dropped off at Canal Alliance at 91 Larkspur Street in San Rafael, instead of physical items.
Federal prosecutors charged 30 people with largely gun and drug-trafficking crimes after a months-long investigation in metro Denver, a mix of federal and local officials announced at a news conference Monday.
Those charged include eight people who investigators believe are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua, U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said. He said he considers three of the eight gang members to be “leaders.” Two of the leaders were arrested July 30 in Colombia, court records show.
McNeilly could not say how many Tren de Aragua gang members remain in Colorado, whether the local members were taking direction from leaders in Venezuela, or how many of the 30 people arrested in the operation were Venezuelan nationals.
David Olesky, a special agent in charge with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said the federal charges against eight gang members “diminished” Tren de Aragua’s “influence and capabilities” in the Denver area.
The federal investigation started in October when Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown sought federal assistance to deal with rising crime at the Ivy Crossing apartments on Quebec Street. The subsequent investigation involved at least 40 undercover operations and branched out significantly from the apartment complex.
Federal investigators seized or purchased 69 guns during the investigation, according to court records. Twenty-seven of those guns were connected through ballistics to 67 “separate shooting events,” said Brent Beavers, Denver special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court records show those incidents included drive-by shootings, an attempted carjacking and a shootout between two large groups, among others.
“By removing these firearms from the street, we’ve disrupted a dangerous cycle of violence, prevented further harm to our community and sent a clear message to criminal networks,” Beavers said.
The defendants in the federal cases announced Monday were not charged in connection with those shootings.
Rather, the majority of defendants face charges of possessing guns, conspiring to illegally traffic guns, distributing drugs and conspiring to distribute drugs in connection with incidents in which they are accused of selling drugs or guns to undercover federal agents.
If convicted, the defendants face between five and 20 years in prison on many of the charges.
Six of the defendants are also charged with conspiring to commit murder-for-hire. An undercover agent asked the defendants in May if they could hire the defendants to kill two people for $10,000. The defendants allegedly agreed to commit the homicides for $15,000, and one defendant also offered to decapitate the victims and return their heads to the undercover agents for an additional $5,000.
Several of the defendants were arrested after they met up to get ready for the killings, according to an affidavit.
Conspiracy to commit murder for hire can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.
A Maryland man has been sentenced to 68 years in prison for the murder of his child’s mother and grandmother, shooting another person and setting a D.C. apartment on fire with his baby inside.
A Maryland man has been sentenced to 68 years in prison for the murder of his child’s mother and grandmother, shooting another person and setting a D.C. apartment on fire with his baby inside.
Keanan Christopher Turner, 35, of Clinton, was sentenced Friday in the shooting death of the mother of his 3-month-old son, 32-year-old Ebony Wright, and her mother, Wanda Wright, 48. Another female relative was also shot and survived.
Turner had been in a relationship with Ebony Wright when she became pregnant. He asked her to terminate the pregnancy, which she refused; after which, Turner stopped speaking to her.
After giving birth, she filed a custody and child support lawsuit against Turner. On April 12, 2021, Turner reached out to meet his child at her apartment, where Wanda Wright, a female relative and the baby were also present.
Turner went to the bathroom after meeting the family and came back with a gun, a Justice Department news release said. He then shot Ebony Wright in the head while she was holding the child, and then shot her mother. Turner then went into a bedroom and shot the relative.
“Before leaving the apartment, Turner lit the custody papers and set the apartment on fire, in an attempt to kill his own child. He then fled the scene,” the news release said.
Ebony and Wanda Wright died from their injuries, but the baby’s aunt was able to save him and call 911, according to reporting from the Washington Post.
Turner was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder while armed, attempted first-degree murder of a minor, arson and destruction of property, among other charges.
At the sentencing hearing last week, prosecutors argued Turner should be sentenced to life in prison, given he showed a “complete lack of remorse” and “the heinous nature of the offense, namely the killing of two innocent women, the attempted murder of a third, and most horrific, leaving his own infant child to burn to death, solely to avoid paying child support.”
WTOP’s Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
Arson investigations are underway into three fires in four days, Petaluma police and firefighters said Saturday.
A fire about 4:44 a.m. Monday consumed a portable toilet near the soccer field at Lucchesi Park and threatened a shipping container with property belonging to the Petaluma Youth Soccer League, fire officials said.
At 1:47 a.m. Friday, a parks department maintenance building on Maria Drive was found fully engulfed in flame five minutes after it was reported, officials said in a news release.
At 10:03 p.m. Friday, a third fire was reported near the Lynch Creek Trail and west of U.S. Highway 101. A 33-year-old man, Alexander Gasparyan, was detained for “reckless burning,” fire officials said.
Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call Detective Alyssa Hanson at (707) 781-1291.
Police arrested Robert Simpson, 56, and charged him with three counts of murder and arson in relation to the fire, according to D.C. officials.
D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the incident was an act of domestic violence, as Simpson had a romantic relationship with a 34-year-old woman who was killed in the fire.
The fire broke out at a two-story town house in the 3400 block of 23rd Street, Southeast at around 5:30 a.m., according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
A 64-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were found dead. A third person, an 85-year-old woman, was alive when firefighters found her but later died at the hospital, police said.
This is a developing story. Stick with WTOP for the latest.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
A man suspected of starting a string of fires in downtown Los Angeles — including a blaze that required 170 firefighters to extinguish and caused $7 million in damage — was arrested Friday, authorities said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department identified the suspect as Victor Marias, 31. The department presented the case to the L.A. County district attorney’s office on Friday and recommended filing multiple felony arson charges against him, along with a probation violation.
“We view the crime of arson as one of the most egregious offenses in Los Angeles, and the LAFD Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section uses every resource available to investigate and prosecute those that are responsible,” LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said in a video shared by the department.
Those recent fires included a massive blaze on Kohler Street on July 19, which spread to several commercial buildings and took more than five hours to extinguish — resulting in more than $7 million in damage and injuring one firefighter, authorities said.
Investigators used surveillance camera video to identify a suspect and determine that the fire was started intentionally.
Authorities allege Marias started the fire on Kohler Street as well as two others in the downtown area — on Willow Street on Sept. 22 and Oct. 3.
Marias is also on active probation for a fire that damaged a structure just one block away from the Kohler Street fire in August 2023, authorities say.
“Surveillance footage shows a suspect collecting rubbish from a public trash can, also collecting wood for kindling and placing it near the base of a power pole,” said Scott, describing the Oct. 3 fire. “Moments after walking away, flames erupted from the garbage, eventually damaging the pole.”
There is also surveillance footage from Sept. 22 showing a suspect lighting trash on fire by the door of a business, he added. In both cases, residents provided the security footage.
“The assistance provided by witnesses within the community was critical to identifying and ultimately arresting the suspect,” Scott said. “Their willingness to step forward and to take an active role in protecting their own neighborhood from harm is appreciated and commended.”
The LAFD is asking residents with additional information, photos and videos of these fires to email LAFDArson@lacity.org.
After nearly 10 months of extensive repairs and cleaning, the Colorado Supreme Court building will reopen its doors to the public on Tuesday.
“The Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center is an important symbol in our legal community — it is the hub of activity for a number of agencies critical to our judicial system,” Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez said in a news release. “Its partial reopening marks a significant milestone in the recovery process from the devasting events that severely damaged the tower complex earlier this year.”
The Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, which houses the Colorado Supreme Court, in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Brandon Olsen, 45, allegedly shot through a window and broke into the court building in the early morning of Jan. 2 while fleeing from a car crash at 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street, police said.
The 45-year-old faces charges of arson, robbery and criminal mischief in connection with the incident, according to court records. He is accused of holding a security guard at gunpoint and starting a fire on the seventh floor of the building.
The seventh-floor fire was extinguished by the building’s sprinklers, which ran for a couple of hours and caused significant water damage. In total, the break-in caused $35 million in damages and left four floors unusable, court officials said.
Floors 3 through 7 are currently being rebuilt from scratch and are expected to reopen next summer, building officials said.
During the building’s initial reopening next week, the public will have access to floors 1 and 2 of the office tower between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Access to floors 8 through 12 will be available by appointment only.
Olsen is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 18 for an arraignment hearing, according to court records.
A Cal Fire engineer accused of setting several fires in Northern California had previously been in a firefighting training program while serving a six-year state prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter, according to state corrections officials.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said 38-year-old Robert Matthew Hernandez, who was recently charged with multiple counts of arson, had participated in the state’s Conservation Camp Program from April through December 2018.
The fire camps, about 35 in the state, are minimum-security facilities run by the corrections department, Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. State officials say the program paves the way for job opportunities and benefits for formerly incarcerated people.
Mary Xjimenez, a corrections department spokesperson, said Hernandez was transferred from San Bernardino County to state prison in August 2017.
“He was sentenced to six years for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated,” she said. “He received 756 days of pre-sentence credit for time served while awaiting sentencing and was eligible for credit-earning opportunities while incarcerated.”
Among those credit-earning opportunities was the fire camp program.
Hernandez was released on parole supervision in December 2018. That following year, Xjimenez said, he enrolled in the Ventura Training Center, a certification program to help formerly incarcerated people apply for entry-level firefighting jobs with local, state and federal firefighting agencies.
Xjimenez said Hernandez completed his parole in November 2020.
Hernandez’s latest run in with the law occurred a week ago when the native of Healdsburg allegedly started five fires white off duty: The Alexander fire on Aug. 15, the Windsor River Road fire on Sept. 8, the Geysers fire on Sept. 12 and the Geyser and Kinley fires on Sept. 14, according to Cal Fire law enforcement officials.
Hernandez was charged with five counts of arson on Tuesday. The Press Democrat, the first news outlet to report on Hernandez‘s ties to the fire camp program, said that Hernandez did not enter a plea and that his attorney, Orchid Vaghti, declined to comment.
State corrections and fire officials said they were appalled to learn that Hernandez not only violated the public’s trust but attempted to tarnish the work of firefighters.
“We strongly condemn the actions of any individual that endanger our communities and undermine the valuable contributions of fire camp participants,” Xjimenez said,
While fellow firefighters were battling voracious blazes throughout Northern California, Cal Fire engineer Robert Hernandez is accused of igniting his own fires, according to authorities.
Hernandez, 38, was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of committing arson on forest land in the areas surrounding Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the agency tasked with fire prevention on the state’s more than 31 million acres of privately owned wildlands.
“I am appalled to learn one of our employees would violate the public’s trust and attempt to tarnish the tireless work of the 12,000 women and men of Cal Fire,” Joe Tyler, the agency’s director and fire chief, said in a statement.
A Cal Fire spokesperson said the agency would not be providing any additional details.
Hernandez’s case is unusual but not unique.
Former Glendale Fire Capt. John Orr proclaimed his innocence even as he was sentenced in 1992 to 30 years in federal prison for setting fire to three stores in the San Joaquin Valley in 1987 as he drove home from an arson investigators conference in Fresno.
Orr, a 17-year firefighting veteran, was also sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison for the 1984 fire at Ole’s Home Center in South Pasadena.
Cal Fire law enforcement officials allege Hernandez started five fires while off duty: the Alexander fire on Aug. 15, the Windsor River Road fire on Sept. 8, the Geyers fire on Sept. 12 and the Geyser and Kinley fires on Sept. 14.
The blazes, in total, scorched less than an acre of wildland, according to Cal Fire, due in part to fire-suppression resources promoted by the agency.
Cal Fire said it was in the process of booking Hernandez into Sonoma County Jail.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Hernandez had not been booked as of 11 a.m. Friday.
Cal Fire is asking residents to take note of suspicious persons when a fire starts.
Anyone with information about potential arson is asked to contact the Cal Fire arson hotline at (800) 468-4408. Callers may remain anonymous.
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — While announcing an arrest in connection with the Alexander Mountain Fire, the Larimer County sheriff revealed the man accused of starting the wildfire had been arrested before.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, where they identified the suspect as Jason Alexander Hobby, 49, of Loveland. He faces charges of first-degree arson, two counts of impersonating a peace officer, felony menacing, false imprisonment and impersonating a public servant. After obtaining an arrest warrant for Hobby on Sept. 6, he was taken into custody on Sept. 10. He was issued a $450,000 cash/surety bond.
Hobby was an employee at the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch — a family-owned, 3,200-acre property in the foothills west of Loveland — up until about three or four weeks ago when he was identified as a suspect during the course of the investigation, said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen during the press conference. The ranch then terminated his employment.
Watch the full press conference below:
Full press conference: Arrest in Alexander Mountain Fire investigation
On Thursday, Denver7 Investigates obtained court records from Riverside County, California, where Hobby faced criminal charges previously. The records reveal Hobby was arrested on July 4, 1999.
According to the court documents, Hobby was arrested for not having “private security” patches. He was eventually charged with manufacturing, importing, and selling weapons, failing to carry valid security ID, and wearing a baton without registering it.
All charges were dismissed due to a violation of the defendant’s rights to a speedy trial, according to a spokesperson for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
According to California law, the majority of the charges fall under the state’s “Business and Professions Code” in the chapter pertaining to “private security services.”
Denver7 Investigates is working to learn more about the specifics of these charges.
Denver7
Got a tip? Send it to the Denver7 Investigates team
Use the form below to send us a comment or story idea you’d like the Denver7 Investigates team to check out. You can also email investigates@Denver7.com or call our newsroom at 303-832-0200.
The 34-year-old Norco man arrested on suspicion of starting the Line fire, which has raged through San Bernardino County, tried multiple times to start a fire before succeeding, prosecutors allege.
The San Bernardino County district attorney’s office filed criminal charges Thursday against Justin Wayne Halstenberg. He’s facing multiple counts of arson, including using incendiary devices to start fires and arson causing great bodily injury. Prosecutors said additional charges may be filed for any further structure damage or injuries as the fire continues.
“The devastation that has unfolded due to the alleged actions of one man cannot be undone,” Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson said in a statement, adding that “37,000 acres of forest land and mountain communities might never be what they once were.”
“My hope is that with the investigative efforts of our law enforcement partners and thorough prosecution of this case,” he said, “we can offer some measure of justice.”
The man’s mother spoke out in her son’s defense, telling The Times on Thursday that he “did not light that fire.”
A helicopter drops water on the Line fire Monday in Mentone, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Connie Halstenberg made the comment in a text message response to The Times in which she said that she was not talking to the press.
But, she said: “I do want to say this about my baby boy. He did not light that fire, I repeat he did not light that fire.”
She said there are things that her son does that she does not approve of but that “he is not an arsonist.”
In filing charges, prosecutors said Halstenberg attempted to start multiple fires within an hour in the city of Highland. His first alleged attempt occurred at Bacon and Lytle lanes. That fire was reported and extinguished by local firefighters.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, is being held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.
(San Bernardino County sheriff)
Prosecutors said he tried a second time just east of Bacon Lane, near Base Line and Aplin streets. They said the fire was stomped out by a good Samaritan.
“Undeterred, he ignited a third fire which is what we now know as the Line Fire,” prosecutors said in the statement.
Three firefighters were injured in the first couple of days of the fire. At least one structure has been destroyed, and three others have been damaged, but none were homes, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus. He said the fire had affected an estimated 100,000 county residents.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Matt Kirkhart, who supervises the law enforcement investigation unit, said arson investigators responded to the fire that day to determine the origin and cause of the fire.
Flames from the Line fire reach tree tops Tuesday in Running Springs, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
He said investigators immediately began to comb through video taken from traffic cameras and license plate readers in an effort to develop a lead. They were joined by detectives with the Sheriff’s Department. Kirkhart said investigators at some point were able to identify a white truck, which led them to the suspect.
Sheriff’s Det. Jake Hernandez said Halstenberg was taken into custody Tuesday at his home in the 1000 block of Detroit Street in Norco, where a search was conducted.
Halstenberg, who remains in jail without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.
A 16-year-old boy is in the process of being charged for a fire at a Clarksburg apartment building Saturday that left two residents and two firefighters hospitalized.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials battle a blaze at a Clarksburg, Maryland, apartment complex on August 17, 2024. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials battle a blaze at a Clarksburg, Maryland, apartment complex on August 17, 2024. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Assistant Chief Daniel Ogren with Montgomery County Fire and EMS said Saturday that investigators quickly determined the fire was no accident.
“After talking to the suspect, they made the decision to go ahead and charge that suspect with numerous crimes,” Ogren said.
Few details about the charges have been released, and the boy’s name is being withheld because he is a minor.
During his Tuesday media briefing, Montgomery County Executive Mark Elrich revealed the teen had been in trouble for “two previous, similar incidents of fire setting” before being accused of setting the fire in Clarksburg.
Elrich said the Department of Juvenile Services released the boy after the first two fires. He expressed anger that the boy was released to his parents again after being questioned and named a suspect in the Clarksburg fire.
“If you just simply return them to an environment where they weren’t able to get any help, even when the parents tried to get them help, all you’re doing is making this situation worse,” Elrich said.
WTOP has reached out the Department of Juvenile Services for comment.
On Wednesday, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said after prosecutors “filed motions in court,” a judge made the decision to detain the boy.
While he said he is unable to speak about this case specifically, Ogren said the department supports steps being taken, which could include detention, to prevent a suspected arsonist from committing another act in the future.
“Our main goal is to try and get these people identified and into the system in one shape or another, so that they can get the help that they need and, ultimately, protect the citizens of Montgomery County,” Ogren said.
He said the bottom line with this fire is the department is thankful no one was killed.
“It could have very easily been much, much worse, given the seriousness of this fire,” he said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
MINNEAPOLIS — Documents say 62-year-old Bennett Thomas caused an excess of $200,000 worth of damage to businesses and residences in Uptown when he started a series of fires in late July. Authorities say he did it for fun.
For over two weeks, FACE day spa owner Matisse Johnson has been unable to open her businesses.
Authorities say Bennett Thomas, a homeless man, started a total of five fires in the early morning hours of July 22.
Every day since, Johnson says crews have been gutting the building.
“Anyone who wants to help me or my staff, we appreciate it so much and every dollar is being split up between the women who work here,”said Johnson
Bennett Thomas was arrested the day of the incident and released two days later. This week, he was charged with first-degree arson. According to the documents, he stated he lights trash cans on fire for fun.
“I think it’s horrible. You like to start fires but you affected over 20 people,” said Lawrence Thomas, who owns the State Farm agency next door. “You can’t go around verbatum literally saying ‘I’m starting these fires for fun’ when I have families that live above my building that their apartments burned out.”
He says carpets have now been replaced, employees have to work remote, and there is no air conditioning or internet yet.
On top of arson damage, both Johnson and Lawrence Thomas say they’re concerned about a proposed emergency homeless shelter and recuperative care facility to be built right across the street.
“Just puts it at risk for clients not feeling comfortable to come and spend money on Lake Street,” said Johnson.
“These unhoused neighbors would be better served somewhere else where it’s not going to get in the way of the economic vibrance of so many businesses,” said Lawrence Thomas.
Despite the setbacks and no idea when she can reopen, Johnson says she wants to stay in Uptown.
According to an email from a Minneapolis city planner, there will no longer be a public comment period on Monday to discuss the homeless shelter as the developer has withdrawn the permit.
The city planner writes that it’s due to considerable community feedback. The developer plans to resubmit for a different permit that would push discussion back to September.
An early morning fire Tuesday at least partially destroyed a temporary encampment at Lee Gerner Park in Novato.
Novato police said they responded around 3:30 a.m. to a report of a fire near Novato Creek at the park.
Police said the fire spread quickly, burning several tents, the perimeter fence, and a large tree in the center of the camp.
Residents were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported. Police said firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, preventing it from spreading to nearby businesses.
Police said investigators are treating the fire as arson. Anyone with information about the fire can contact police at (415) 897-4361.
MINNEAPOLIS — The lights are on, and the ink is flowing inside Ink Lab in Uptown Minneapolis. It’s the first day back for artists after someone intentionally set several garbage fires.
“Back in the shop we got here this morning and power cleaned,” said Erica Bessler on Friday.
David Dettloff, who owns Ink Lab, was finally able to watch the surveillance footage that shows exactly what happened early Monday morning.
In the video, you see a man walk up to a dumpster and look inside before setting it on fire. You can see the large flames quickly spread, scaling up the building and melting everything in its way.
“What mostly struck me is how casually this guy is coming back here and lighting a fire,” said Dettloff. “It’s that easy to destroy a building and mess with a bunch of people’s lives.”
The fire left six people without a home, shut down businesses for days, and put one man behind bars.
InkLab’s owner worries a proposed shelter directly from his Lake Street shop could also mess with people’s lives.
“If people like me and those who run businesses along this block keep fighting to make this area better have nice retail stores and decent restaurants for people to visit, we can keep Uptown an exciting environment,” he said.
Dozens shared his sentiment at a meeting earlier this month.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense to put an emergency shelter in the middle of a retail space, it’s not like we’d do that in the Mall of America,” said one neighbor.
The developer behind the plan said it “will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, comfort or general welfare.”
Another planning commission hearing is set for mid-August.
Until then business owners in this buzzing neighborhood, will be left with some burning questions.
A D.C. apartment was on fire for the second time in just over 24 hours on Friday morning in what are being called targeted arson attacks.
Investigators have identified a person of interest in two arson attacks on the same apartment in D.C.
(Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue
An investigation is ongoing in the case of an arson attack on the same apartment in D.C. twice in a little over 24 hours.
(Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue
Firefighters respond to an arson attack twice in the span of a little more than 24 hours.
(Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue
A first floor apartment in D.C. was attacked twice by an arsonist.
(Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy D.C. Fire and Rescue
A fire broke out at a D.C. apartment building for the second time in just over 24 hours on Friday morning. Authorities said the fires are the result of targeted arson attacks and a suspect has been taken into custody.
An accelerant was thrown in an attack on a first floor apartment in the 2100 block of Suitland Terrace in Southeast, according to police.
Fire investigators continue their work at the arson fire on Suitland Terrace SE. Investigator Chris Somers and his partner Rosa, an accelerant sniffing K-9, check the area. #DCsBravestpic.twitter.com/RMvvfwMQFA
— DC Fire and EMS Department (@dcfireems) July 26, 2024
Fire and EMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said the first incident happened around 7 a.m. Thursday. The more serious attack happened Friday just before 9 a.m.
More than a dozen firefighters responded to the scene Friday morning. Maggiolo said the accelerants were tossed from outside the building.
He said the people living in the apartment were staying elsewhere after the first attack and weren’t in the building Friday morning.
Police have since taken a suspect into custody whose identity hasn’t been released.
An accelerant-sniffing K-9 team was there Friday morning checking the area.
Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call the D.C. arson hotline at (202) 673-ARSON (2776).
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. — A New York man was charged with arson after giving an 11-year-old child fireworks that set a shed and two homes on fire on Independence Day, police said.
The Nassau County Police Department on Long Island said Karamjit Singh, 33, told the child to light the fireworks Thursday morning outside his home in Levittown, but they malfunctioned and set a shed on fire. The blaze then spread to Singh’s home and a neighboring house in the suburban neighborhood, causing extensive damage.
Images captured by local media showed thick smoke billowing from the fire and the side of one of the homes burned away to expose its wooden studs. Charred debris was strewn across the yard.
No injuries were reported. Singh was arrested without incident and the child was released to a family member, police said.
Court records show Singh is being represented by the Nassau County legal aid office. A message seeking comment was left there on Sunday. Singh is charged with arson, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, among other charges.
CHICAGO (WLS) — A man has been charged with the murder of a 54-year-old woman who was died in a fire in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
The fire started at about 2:21 a.m. on Saturday, when a man threw an incendiary device through the window of an apartment in the 3100-block of South Green Street, police said.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman living in the apartment as 54-year-old Charnette Walker. She died at the scene according to police.
A 12-year-old girl was also injured in the fire. The Chicago Fire Department took the girl to an area hospital, where she was last listed in fair condition.
Cordale Nichols, 37, has been charged with two felony counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one felony count of arson, police said. He also received an annual gun offender registration citation.
Nichols was arrested about 45 minutes after the fire in the 2900-block of South Halsted.
A motive was not immediately clear.
Whether the suspect and victims knew each other is unclear.
