Pittsburg man IDd as alleged arsonist
A 36-year-old Pittsburg man was identified Wednesday as the alleged arsonist behind a string of vehicle and structure fires around Contra Costa County in recent weeks.
James Bishop III was charged by the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office with one count of arson to an inhabited structure, nine counts of arson to property and eight counts of using an accelerant to set fire, said Capt. George Laing with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.
Bishop was arrested around 1 a.m. Saturday in a residential neighborhood in Benicia, blocks away from a car that had been torched in a driveway. Authorities named Bishop as the suspected arsonist for the first time Wednesday.
Authorities believe Bishop might be responsible for 30 or more intentionally set fires around Contra Costa County. He is being held in the Martinez Detention Facility on $3.2 million bail.
Investigators started noticing an uptick in suspicious fires being set around the county in April, Liang said.
In all the cases, fires were set using an accelerant on the outside of the vehicles. In some instances, the fires spread to nearby homes and structures.
Then last week, more than half a dozen cars were set on fire in the Contra Costa cities of Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Martinez and Brentwood.
One car fire in Brentwood was particularly troubling because it was set on fire in a driveway under the bedroom of a 6-year-old girl.
As the number of fires increased, law enforcement and fire agencies in the East Bay formed a task force to track down the firebug.
Detectives soon identified an older model Toyota RAV4 spotted in security footage near the scenes of the blazes. Bishop was busted Saturday driving such a vehicle — a 1996 Toyota RAV4, Liang said.
Since his arrest, fire officials said the number of fires has decreased to the normal rate for the area.
Anyone with information about possible other arson fires is asked to call investigators at (866) 502-7766.