Guard Seen Leaving Fire at Universal, Court Told
A security guard facing felony charges for allegedly setting a multimillion-dollar blaze at Universal Studios was seen walking away from the fire just after it started, witnesses said Tuesday.
The testimony came during the first day of Michael F. Huston’s preliminary hearing, which is being held to determine whether there is enough evidence to try him on arson charges.
Horst Harter, a Universal Studios employee, said he saw flames coming from a brownstone facade on the studio lot just after 7 p.m. Nov. 6 as he was driving down New York Street. At the same time, Harter said, he noticed Huston, a Burns International Security Services guard, walking across Brownstone Street, away from the fire. “I asked him if there was a fire,” Harter told Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Jon Mayeda. “He said, ‘Yes there was and I called it in,’ ” Harter said.
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