Man held in series of East Bay car fires

Suspect faces 43 counts of arson tied to blazes

An arson task force arrested a 36-year-old man Saturday in connection with a string of mysterious car and structure fires in Contra Costa County.

The man, whom police did not identify, was taken into custody just before 1 a.m. in a residential area of Benicia, just blocks from another burning vehicle. Fire investigators said he appeared to have set fire to the vehicle, which was parked in a driveway.

“We’re relieved,” Robert Marshall, fire marshal of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, said at a news conference in Concord. “We’re hoping the fires will stop, at least in this regard.”

The man, a Contra Costa County resident, was charged with 43 counts of arson, some related to the same fires and nearby structures that were also damaged. His bail was set at more than $3.1 million, according to fire

officials.

Marshall said the man is suspected of setting fires in the area going back to at least the beginning of this year, but he would not provide any further details on the specific fires and how investigators tracked him down.

“There were common threads, and that was partially how we were able to locate a suspect,” Marshall said.

Fire investigators did not immediately release any additional information. In addition to Contra Costa County fire investigators, the task force included the Contra Costa district attorney’s office, California Highway Patrol, Lafayette Police Department and Concord Police Department.

At least 12 car fires have occurred in Contra Costa County since the beginning of the year, including two cars that were set ablaze in Lafayette on Friday.

Earlier in the week, firefighters extinguished a car fire on Fraga

Court in Martinez, followed by another in Walnut Creek on LeRoy Lane and another on nearby Padre Street in Lafayette.

Two vehicle blazes that broke out in Brentwood on Thursday caused additional concern because they were set in the driveways of homes, one of which was under the bedroom of a 6-year-old girl.

All the cars that were set on fire were destroyed. In some cases, structures were damaged as well. No injuries were reported.

The recent rash of fires follows other serial arsonist incidents in Contra Costa County, including two years ago when authorities arrested a man suspected of setting fires to hillsides in the middle of the night, Marshall said.

“There were common threads, and that was partially how we were able to locate a suspect.” Robert Marshall of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, on the arrest of a suspect in a string of car fires