Fire suspect caught on camera right in front of burning tree arrested – National

Footage shows the moment an arson suspect was arrested as he stood next to a burning tree in Azusa, California, as wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles and surrounding California.

José Gerardo Escobar was arrested on suspicion of arson at about 11:30 a.m. on January 10 in Pioneer Park, not far from the San Gabriel Mountains, where the deadly Eaton fire started.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office alleges that Escobar tried to set fire to a fallen tree in Pioneer Park.

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Footage shared by the district attorney’s office shows a police officer detaining a 39-year-old man wearing a green hoodie and black baseball cap while a fire burns in front of him. Trees are taken away after they burn to the ground in a public park.

Escobar is charged with one count each of felony arson, emergency arson and attempted arson. He is being held on $20,000 bail. If convicted as charged, he faces up to nine years in state prison.

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Later the officials confirmed it Escobar is not bound For any major wildfire that has burned in Southern California.

Dozens of other people have been arrested for looting, burglary and curfew or other violations during the wildfires in the Los Angeles area. A man was arrested Tuesday night for impersonating a firefighter.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said a man admitted to starting the fire “because he liked the smell of burning leaves.”

McDonnell said another man said he “enjoyed causing chaos and destruction.”

Millions of people in Southern California are on edge as another round of dangerous fire weather is forecast for the region, with a rare warning of “particularly dangerous conditions” for the area near where the Palisades and Eaton fires have killed at least 25 people and Thousands have perished. of houses.

– With files from The Associated Press