SANTA ANA : Office Firebombed; Suspect Arrested

Moments after he allegedly hurled two firebombs that gutted a check-cashing establishment Monday, an arson suspect was apprehended by a group of bystanders, then arrested by police in connection with the incident, authorities said.

Heriberto Martinez, 32, of Baldwin Park was arrested on suspicion of arson and attempted robbery, Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Helton said. Authorities said they had difficulty identifying Martinez because he appeared to be unable to speak or write.

According to witnesses at the shopping strip at 423 E. 1st St. on Monday, Martinez had been loitering outside Facil Cash & Check throughout the morning when two young women ran up to him, handed him a brown paper bag, then fled on foot.

Police and witnesses said Martinez apparently waited for a few customers to leave, then entered the establishment just before 11:30 a.m. and approached clerk Nina Khan, 30, who was standing behind a sheet of bulletproof plastic.

Khan told police that Martinez carefully removed two clear bottles from the bag, set them on the countertop, then gestured with his hands, curling his fingers as if to demand money.

Her brother, owner Khalid Khan, said he was confused by the man’s actions. “I said, ‘What is this guy trying to do?’ ”

When the Khans did not respond, police said, Martinez allegedly struck a match, placed it on the countertop and gesticulated a second time. As Nina Khan pressed a secret button to summon local authorities, police said, the man lit the wicks to the bottles, which contained flammable liquid, stepped back, then heaved them at the bulletproof barrier.

The plastic caught fire, but it kept flames from reaching the Khans, who fled out the back door. “I’m grateful for that,” Nina Khan said of the plastic. “That saved us, believe me.”

Esther Vasquez, 22, an assistant optometrist at a vision center near Facil Cash & Check, said the suspect walked away calmly from the scene.

Vasquez said she corralled three men and told them to run after Martinez in the parking lot.

“They saw the place was in flames, so they stopped him,” she said, adding that Martinez “looked spaced out.”

The men detained him until police could arrive.

The blaze gutted the interior of the check-cashing establishment, causing an estimated $50,000 in damage, fire officials said. A fast-food restaurant and a dry cleaners on either side of Facil Cash & Check suffered minor damage.

“The whole thing is blown,” Nina Khan said. “The back, the computer, the TV--the whole thing is gone.”

Martinez was being held in Orange County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.