Reserve deputy is key to arrest of suspected arsonist
LOS ANGELES — The reserve sheriff’s deputy who captured a man suspected of being the city’s most dangerous arsonist is a volunteer who earns $1 a year and only recently qualified to patrol alone, authorities said Tuesday.
Shervin Lalezary, a 30year-old Beverly Hills real estate attorney, was patrolling at 3 a.m. Monday — three hours after the official end of his 4 p.m.-tomidnight shift — when he pulled over a Dodge van in Hollywood.
He and hundreds of other law enforcement officers had been hunting nonstop for the arsonist, and the van matched one that investigators were seeking.
“As soon as he saw the van, he notified the entire network,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said. “Immediately he had backup … and two (Los Angeles police) officers were right behind him.”
The driver, Harry Burkhart, was arrested on suspicion of setting more than 50 fires since last week, burning cars in apartment buildings in Hollywood and nearby areas.
Lalezary helped make the collar on what was his third solo patrol shift.
“I can tell you this is a lot more exciting than my day job,” Lalezary said at a news conference after the arrest.
Lalezary declined to speak further to The Associated Press by phone on Tuesday.
“He believes in the community service aspects of the reserve deputy,” Whitmore said.
Lalezary was born in Tehran and moved with his family to America about 25 years ago. He has a law degree from the University of Southern California.
He became interested in law enforcement in college, said his 35-year-old brother, Dr. Arash Lalezary.
“He was fascinated by it,” Arash Lalezary said. “I’ve always been worried about him. … Every time he goes out I say, be` careful, be careful.’ ”
Sheriff Lee Baca has said Lalezary’s reserve status takes nothing away from his achievement.
“This is one of the most significant arrests anyone can make — regular or re- serve,” the sheriff said Monday. “And this will follow him for the rest of his life.”