Charges filed against man in apartment fire
The 51-year-old man who allegedly started a fire inside the bedroom of his apartment was formally arraigned in Yuma Justice Court on Wednesday.
Appearing before Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, Joaquin Murrieta was informed that a criminal complaint had been filed against him, charging him with two felony offenses.
Those felonies,
Stewart continued, are criminal damage and arson of an occupied structure.
In addition to appointing the
Yuma County
Public Defender’s
Office to represent him, Stewart also scheduled his next court appearance – a preliminary hearing
– for 4 p.m. on Sept. 24.
Murrieta remains in custody at the Yuma County jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond.
According to the Yuma Police Department, at approximately 11:37 a.m. on last Friday officers responded to a fire at West Bluff Manor, located at 1280 W. 24th St.
The Yuma Fire Department was already on scene when officers arrived and quickly extinguished a fire burning inside the bedroom of one of the apartments.
The residents of adjacent apartments had also been evacuated.
The fire was contained to the bedroom, with smoke damage throughout the apartment.
The adjoining apartments were able to be reoccupied. Fire investigators also determined that someone had started the fire.
The investigation later revealed that the occupant of the apartment was suspected to be the person responsible.
At approximately 12:45 p.m. Murrieta was arrested and booked into the Yuma County jail on charges of arson of an occupied structure and criminal damage, both of which are felonies.
There were no reported injuries.