LOCAL : Transient, 42, Admits Setting Fire at Pan Pacific, City Officials Say
A man who was arrested Sunday has confessed to setting the fire that gutted the historic Pan Pacific Auditorium last week, city officials announced today.
But Fire Chief Donald Manning and Mayor Tom Bradley said the man, whose name they would not reveal, may be released if they cannot gather enough evidence by this evening to persuade the district attorney’s office to file charges.
Manning described the suspect as a 42-year-old transient who had been living out of his car.
Two security guards saw the man loitering around the auditorium before the $3-million blaze that erupted last Wednesday night in the vacant structure on Beverly Boulevard. The man was arrested outside the building, Manning said.
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