LA cops looking for arsonist who set cars alight

LOS ANGELES: Detectives want to talk to a man caught on grainy surveillance video at a parking garage that was the scene of one of dozens of suspicious car fires in the city.

Police distributed DVDS on Sunday featuring footage of the person sought, a white man between 20 and 30 years old with a receding hairline and a shoulderlength ponytail. The man is wanted for questioning in connec- tion with the rash of arson blazes, said Officer Sara Faden.

He was seen on video on Saturday after emerging on foot from inside an underground parking structure on Hollywood Boulevard where a car fire was reported.

Faden said investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying the man.

Detectives spent early Sunday analysing security video camera footage and following up on other leads after a half-dozen more vehicles were set on fire on New Year’s Eve.

The outbreak of arson fires has left a trail of smouldering debris in Hollywood, West Hollywood, North Hollywood and the Fairfax district of Los Angeles since Thursday.

Authorities said they were investigating a total of 43 suspicious fires. Most of those fires were set in parked cars. – Sapa-ap