Lakeport man arrested for arson by LCSO
Baraquiel Simon Ruiz was placed under arrest, booked at the Lake County Jail for arson; He remains in custody with bail set at $250K
According to information made public by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday at 6:50 p.m., deputies traveled to the 6600 block of Westlake Road in Upper Lake for a reported arson. A witness reported observing a man starting a fire in the area.
When deputies arrived, they spoke to the witness who told them he saw a male lighting a fire on the side of the road that was approximately a 5’ by 5’ area. The witness yelled at the suspect to stop and the suspect started to stomp out the fire. Once the fire was mostly out, the suspect left the area towards Highway 29. The witness was able to capture the suspect on video using his cell phone.
The deputies searched the area and found a man, Baraquiel Simon Ruiz, 33, of Lakeport, who matched the description provided by the witness. The deputies conducted an in field line up and the witness identified Ruiz as the suspect. Ruiz admitted to starting the fire to burn some trash. He could not provide a reason why he was burning trash on the side of the road.
The fire ultimately burned a 10’ by 10’ grassy area. Fire personnel reported there had been a separate fire in the same area around 2 p.m. that day. It is unknown at this time if Ruiz was responsible for that fire.
Ruiz was placed under arrest and booked at the Lake County Jail for arson. He remains in custody with bail set at $250,000. Anyone with information regarding this investigation or the fire earlier in the day is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office.