Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman announced arson charges Friday against six men who set fires around L.A. County in the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.
A man who impersonated a firefighter to sneak into a Malibu evacuation zone has also been arrested, Hochman said.
The arson defendants set ablaze couches, trash, a discarded Christmas tree and a dumpster on Jan. 13 and 14, as emergency officials were gearing up to face down a dangerous wind event that threatened to strengthen the fires that have destroyed more than 10,000 homes and claimed at least 25 lives across L.A. County since Jan. 7.
None of the arsons have been linked to any of the larger wildfires burning throughout the county, according to Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
“To anyone who believes they can use this disaster as a cover for criminal activity, let this be your warning: you will be caught, and you will be held accountable,” Hochman said in a statement. “The citizens of this county deserve safety and justice, especially in the wake of such unprecedented devastation.”
The incidents happened in Los Angeles, South Gate, Huntington Park, Hawthorne and Compton, officials said. On Jan. 13, prosecutors allege Manuel Rodriguez, 35, set a fire in a dumpster behind the Donald Bruce Kaufman Library on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, just days after the neighborhood was threatened by a shift in the direction of the Palisades fire.
No one was injured in any of the subsequent arsons. While there has been rampant speculation about the causes of the recent fires, investigators have only publicly discussed the possibility that the Kenneth fire near the L.A.-Ventura County border was intentionally set. In that case, 33-year-old Juan Sierra has been named a “person of interest,” but charges have yet to be filed.
Hochman also announced a filing Friday against 34-year-old Ivan Cedric Reed for impersonating a firefighter to sneak into a Malibu evacuation zone. On Jan. 14, sheriff’s deputies found Reed wearing a “yellow firefighter jacket” and in possession of a “first responders’ radio” on Clifftop Way in Malibu, according to the district attorney’s news release. Reed claimed to be a firefighter, but was arrested by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
Reed has been charged with receiving stolen property, impersonating a firefighter, unlawful use of a badge and entering a closed disaster area.
The wave of charges for looting and arson are expected to continue, as area police have announced dozens of arrests for both crimes since the firestorm erupted. Hochman filed similar cases against nine defendants on Monday.
Burglary suspects dressed as firefighters were also arrested in the Palisades fire evacuation zone on Jan. 12, and cases have been presented to prosecutors against two men for impersonating L.A. firefighters ad conspiring to commit burglary in that case, according to Alan Hamilton, chief of detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department.