D.A. Office Won’t Charge Suspect in L.A. Library Fire

Citing a lack of evidence, the district attorney’s office refused Monday to file arson charges against a 28-year-old Hollywood man arrested Friday as a suspect in last year’s devastating Los Angeles Central Library fire.

Authorities said, however, that Harry Peak, 28, remains the prime suspect in the $22-million blaze April 29 and that the investigation is continuing.

Peak remained in custody Monday at the Hollywood Division Police Station jail on an outstanding traffic warrant, officials added. He was expected to be released later in the evening, after posting $171 bail on the moving violation, jail officials said.

There is “no doubt in my mind,” that Peak started the blaze in the classic old structure at 5th and Flower streets, Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Dean Cathey told reporters, after the district attorney’s decision was announced. “We have a good deal of evidence . . . we’ll go back and take a look at where we want to progress from here.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen Kay, who appeared with Cathey, said “there was clearly probable cause” for fire investigators to arrest Peak last week.

But in reviewing the evidence Monday, he added, it was determined that there is not enough evidence that could be presented to a jury to prove Peak guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

“There is not enough admissible evidence at this time to warrant a felony filing,” said Kay, head deputy in charge of the central operations complaint division, who made the filing decision. “We are rejecting it pending further investigation,” he said.

Although Kay refused to discuss specific evidence, he noted that in some instances, statements made by defendants themselves cannot be admitted as evidence in a trial.

The decision was made after a meeting Kay held with Cathey and other fire officials, at which time the evidence was reviewed. The evidence apparently included the substance of interviews with Peak since his arrest at his Hollywood home late Friday afternoon.

Although Cathey also refused to discuss the evidence, he acknowledged that Peak was interviewed in jail for about five hours Friday night and was interviewed again from about 6:30 a.m. until noon Monday.

Cathey said Peak has been the prime suspect in the fire for several months and that the district attorney’s office had concurred with Peak’s arrest last week. Although he did not criticize the decision not to file charges, he expressed concern that Peak could leave Los Angeles when he is set free from jail, where he has been held in lieu of $250,000 in the arson case.

Kay, though, noted that Peak has not departed, even though he “knew he was the prime suspect long before he was arrested.”

After Peak’s arrest, friends and relatives of the part-time actor told reporters that Peak may have become a victim of his propensity for telling tall tales to gain attention.

Arson investigators, meanwhile, said they were convinced Peak committed the crime and said he gave conflicting statements when questioned several times during the past few months.

At this point, Cathey said, “We’ll be looking at everything that we’ve done until this time, deciding what witnesses if any we can talk to again that might give us better or more information than we have currently.

“And (we’ll) certainly look for somebody from the public or from the library who for whatever reasons did not come forward the day of the fire who might be able to identify more specifically Mr. Peak or any other suspect.”