Woman arrested after allegedly setting associate’s car cover on fire

A 65-year-old Burbank woman was arrested after lighting an associate’s car cover on fire in Glendale, police said.

At around 5:30 p.m., a witness called police after he noticed the woman quickly leaving a driveway in the 1200 block of Thompson Avenue — where a car cover was on fire — in a Lexus, and noted her license plate number, said Glendale Police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot.

Glendale firefighters responded and quickly extinguished the fire, while police investigated the incident and identified Rita Mardiussian as the suspect, Lightfoot said.

She was arrested at her Burbank home on suspicion of arson.

“This is a good example of a witness doing exactly as he should in reporting a crime,” Lightfoot said. “Without the assistance of the witness, we may not have made such a quick arrest.”

Further details about the relationship between Mardiussian and the victim were not available.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek