Man Arrested in Second Fire at Topless Bar

Santa Ana police have arrested a Bellflower man on suspicion of arson in connection with a blaze that caused $100,000 damage to an already fire-gutted topless bar, the Mustang Theater, authorities said Sunday.

George Manriquez, 46, was found injured and bleeding behind the bar by police and firefighters who responded to the blaze shortly after midnight Saturday, said Battalion Chief Bill Zastrow of the Santa Ana Fire Department.

Although he was not burned, Manriquez had suffered a broken arm and a leg injury, Zastrow said.

Santa Ana Police Lt. Earl Porter said Manriquez was arrested later on suspicion of arson. On Sunday, he was listed in fair condition at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, where he remained under police guard.

Christmas Day Blaze

This weekend’s fire came three weeks after a Christmas Day blaze that caused an estimated $700,000 to the topless nightclub. The bar had been closed since that fire, “which basically gutted it out,” Zastrow said. He estimated the additional damage to the structure at $100,000.

The Christmas Day fire, too, was a suspected arson blaze, but authorities declined to discuss whether the fires were linked, or if Manriquez was a suspect in the earlier conflagration.

The Mustang had a history of violence and legal difficulties in the previous year.

The bar’s operator--James Lee Casino, a convicted counterfeiter--was murdered in his home on Jan. 1, 1987, by two intruders who shot him in the head.

The Mustang, in the 600 block of Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana, also was embroiled in several tax and financial disputes even before the fires.

The Saturday fire was reported at 12:22 a.m., and was extinguished by 24 firefighters from seven companies, Zastrow said.