On the evening of January 13, 2018 the cities of Pasadena and Arcadia experienced a spree of outside fires along the Foothill Blvd. corridor, between Sierra Madre Villa and the Los Angeles Arboretum. Firefighters from the cities of Pasadena and Arcadia responded and quickly extinguished the fires. Investigation into the fire causes determined that they were intentionally set. Officers from the Pasadena and Arcadia Police Departments, as well as the California Highway Patrol, responded to the area to search for the person(s) responsible, but were unable to identify and locate a suspect.
An ongoing investigation by members of the Verdugo Fire Investigation Task Force yielded a suspect and description, and a "want flyer" was disseminated to local law enforcement entities. On January 21, 2018 at 03:00 a.m., in response to the "want-flyer", suspect Nigel Letren (DOB: 03/10/1973) was arrested in the City of San Marino by the San Marino Police Department.
On January 24, 2018 the suspect was arraigned at Pasadena Superior Court, where he was charged with five counts of arson related to the January 13th fires, and one count of arson related to the December 9th 2017 wildland fire in the City of Monrovia. The suspect is currently being held on $425,000 bail and is scheduled to return to court on February 15, 2018.
The Verdugo Fire Investigation Task Force is a regional group of investigators from the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, South-Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Monrovia, San Marino, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Monterey Park, and Montebello.
"This arrest is a great example of exceptional cooperation between multiple agencies and proven results from our regional Verdugo Fire Investigations Task Force," states Pasadena Fire Chief Bertral Washington. "The Regional Fire Chiefs and I are thankful for their relentless work on behalf of the communities we serve."
Source: Pasadena Fire Department press release
- Brad Haugaard
Excellent. We cannot allow arsonists!
ReplyDeleteNever even heard mention of the want flyer. Would have been nice, and smart, if the City of Monrovia put that information out there. Never saw anything on their website or social media. :/
ReplyDeleteNever understood why these guys set fires! So glad they got him. Our hillside fire was a bit scary that night. Grateful for our fantastic Fire & police agencies working together with good old fashion police work to catch him.
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