A man accused of arson and a group of looters Managers of homes in evacuation zones amid fires raging in Los Angeles County have been charged, officials said Monday.
Charges were filed against a group of people accused of residential burglaries in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas, while arson charges were brought against a man in Azusa, the District Attorney of Los Angeles County Nathan Hochman said during a press conference.
“These are people who are trying to exploit this tragedy for their own benefit,” Hochman said. “These are people who have engaged in looting and arson. We are also investigating the price and will be investigating scams on the Internet and the like.”
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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman speaks about the re-sentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents decades ago during a press conference in downtown Los Angeles, the Friday, January 3, 2025. (AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes)
Three suspects identified as Martrell Peoples, Damari Bell and Travon Coleman committed residential burglaries in Mandeville Canyon worth more than $200,000 worth of goods hours after the fires started, Hochman said. They were spotted on a Ring camera in a house, he said.
They were eventually linked to an apartment in Koreatown, where they were arrested. A number of stolen items were recovered from that home, officials said.
Peoples, who has two prior strikes, is facing a third, meaning he is looking at a potential life sentence under California’s Three Strikes Law, authorities said. Bell faces 22 years in prison.
The other defendants also include Rudy Salazar and Lucia Jilrara Perez, who face two counts each of first-degree residential burglary in connection with the looting in Altadena on Jan. 8 as the Eaton Fire raged. The pair allegedly entered two homes and were caught entering a third.
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Screenshot of the burglary suspects at a Pacific Palisades home. (Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
A third group of alleged looters stole from a house in Altadenaincluding an Emmy Award, which was recovered, authorities said. They were identified as Roy Sims, Ryan Sims Quan, Naquan Dewey Reddix and Pierie Obannon.
“In the Palisades area and the fires that we experienced in Los Angeles, it is not bad enough that we have 40,000 people potentially, who have been evacuated from an area, and then we have a lot of people who want to come. with the ‘activities to go to victims,’ said the assistant of the police of Los Angeles Blake Chow. “It’s not enough that they have to worry about their properties and rebuilding and things like that.”
The arson suspect, Jose Carranza-Escobar, is accused of trying to light a large tree on fire that had fallen to the ground in Pioneer Park. He was seen “lying next to the flames” and was immediately arrested, police said at the time of his arrest.
“During the investigation, Carranza admitted to starting the fire and was arrested for Arson,” a police statement said.
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Azusa police have arrested 39-year-old homeless arson suspect Jose Carranza-Escobar just steps from a small brush fire they say he admitted to lighting as Los Angeles battles several large fires. (Obtained from Fox News Digital)
Escobar is serving nine years in prison and was due to be indicted on Monday.
Authorities have warned potential criminals to target homes that have been evacuated. In Santa Monica, authorities have arrested at least 10 robbery suspects since the Palisades Fire began last week.
Looting in a house in Altadena during the fires. (Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
They had six burglary tools with them, a couple had the Watch Duty app open on their phone to track evacuation zones, sources told Fox News. The Santa Monica Police Department said officers were able to stop the robberies before they took place.
Overall, Santa Monica police made 39 arrests in the evacuation zones. None of the suspects live in the city.
(Left to right) Joshua Kaliel Love, Miguel Angel Dorantes, Gabriel Asaih Stokes and Dominic Pachecomanga were four of 10 suspects charged with burglary in Palisades Fire evacuation zones in Santa Monica. (Santa Monica Police Department)
Those not charged with attempted theft were pulled over for curfew violations, drug possession, warrants and probation violations. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has made 34 arrests since the fires began, Sheriff Robert Moon he said in a separate press conference on Monday.
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“This is a strong message from all of us, that we are here and when we capture people, we mean business,” he said. “If you don’t have legitimate business in these areas, stay out because our deputies stop people constitutionally, I might add, and ask people questions.”
“We came with narcotics. We came with individuals carrying guns. And guess what? None of them live in these areas,” he added.
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2025-01-14 00:40:00
