Arrest made following dumpster, garage fires

A Burbank man was arrested Thursday in connection with two fires that broke out Monday within a block of each other.

Mohammed Bashir, 40, turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The motive is still under investigation, said Burbank Police Sgt. Darin Ryburn.

The first fire on Monday was in a dumpster at Third Street and Palm Avenue, followed by a second report of a fire in a storage area in a parking structure a block away on Orange Grove Avenue.

“[The second fire] was smoldering when we got there because it was in an enclosed storage area with a sprinkler system,” Ryburn said.

After the second fire was extinguished, investigators deemed it to be suspicious, he said.

Arson officials with the Burbank Fire Department and Burbank Police Department conducted an investigation over the next two days and determined that both dumpsters appeared to be intentional.

During the investigation, they identified Bashir as a suspect.

On Thursday, Bashir turned himself in at the Burbank Police Department, and was booked on one charge of arson.

The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office for review.

Bashir is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Los Angeles Men’s County Jail.

He is set to appear in Superior Court on Monday.

Burbank police asked that residents report any suspicious person or activity by calling the Burbank Police Department at 818-238-3000.
-- Sameea Kamal, sameea.kamal@latimes.com

Follow on Twitter: @SameeaKamal.

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