The Azusa Police Department this weekend arrested a homeless man accused of burning brush in a park near the mountains.
Police responded Friday at 11:37 pm to a report of a brush fire in Pioneer Park. Captain Robert Landeros of the police said that two residents saw the fire, and rushed to see a homeless man trying to start another one by trying to burn a tree that had been blown down by a recent wind.
“It doesn't appear that they used force, but they shouted at him and called the police,” he said.
Police arrived and found the man and took him into custody on suspicion of arson while Los Angeles County firefighters extinguished the fire. Landeros identified the suspect as Jose Carranza-Escobar, a homeless man whose last known whereabouts were in Azusa.
Landeros did not say what the man used to start the fire, but praised the quick intervention of two citizens and the response from the local fire station.
“We were lucky that the wind was calm last night,” he said.
This arrest comes a day after West Hills residents arrested a suspected arsonist who they said was trying to put out a fire while Kenneth was burning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Authorities have identified the suspect as Juan Sierra, 33. Although he was booked on suspicion of trespassing, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said Sierra is a “person of interest” in the Kenneth fire, which started Thursday afternoon near the county line.
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