Woman suspected in 7 arson fires in El Segundo is detained

A woman believed to be responsible for setting seven fires in El Segundo was detained for questioning Tuesday, police said.

The woman was detained two days after the El Segundo Police Department obtained footage of someone setting fire to patio furniture behind a nail salon.

“This morning one of our patrol officers spotted someone in the area that looked like the suspect,” said Lt. Jaime Bermudez. “We think we’ve got her.”

Because the woman had not been formally arrested, police did not release her identity.

In video footage captured Sunday morning from a surveillance camera in an alley in the 400 block of Main Street, a woman can be seen setting fire to furniture on an outside deck.

She was described as being between 55 and 65 years old, 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with dark, shoulder length hair, Bermudez said.

There were two other suspicious fires on Sunday, Bermudez said.

“What alarmed us was there were three fires over a period of a couple of hours,” Bermudez said.

The first fire the woman is suspected of starting was on July 28. Two other fires were ignited inside churches.

Twitter: @AdolfoFlores3