Man Angry Over Haircuts Investigated in Mall Blaze : Crime: The 18-year-old, accused of burning a barbershop, may be charged with arson in a fire that damaged 28 businesses in Encino.

A man arrested on suspicion of burning a Tarzana barbershop where he often complained about bad haircuts is also being investigated in an arson fire that broke out near a men’s hair salon in Encino last week and did $3.5-million damage to a mini-mall, authorities said Thursday.

Jacob Mandel, 18, of Studio City was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of arson. The arrest was made by firefighters combatting a fire set at Sal’s Barber Shop in the 19500 block of Ventura Boulevard, officials said. Mandel was taken into custody after he was allegedly seen vandalizing another men’s hair salon across the street.

Arson investigators spent Thursday afternoon presenting evidence to prosecutors connecting Mandel to a variety of vandalism and arson incidents, with charges expected to be filed today, Deputy Dist. Atty. Phil Rabichow said.

Rabichow declined to say whether Mandel will be charged with setting the fire that swept through the Capri East mini-mall in Encino on June 3, destroying or damaging 28 businesses.

Mandel, who could not be reached for comment, was released Thursday afternoon from the Van Nuys Jail after posting $60,000 bail.

Fire Department officials said Mandel was under investigation for possible involvement in that incident but declined to say whether he had a dispute with any of the businesses--particularly with the For Men Only hair salon--in the area where the fire began.

“We don’t have any principal leads connecting this suspect with the Capri fire,” Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said. “It’s under investigation.”

Rabichow said the investigation involves three incidents of arson and several of vandalism at Sal’s, and incidents of vandalism at the nearby Venti’s Elite barbershop, where Mandel was arrested. Barbers at Sal’s moved to Venti’s after their shop was destroyed by arson fires June 2 and 3--the second blaze on the day of the Capri fire.

Jim Wingert, a barber who worked at Sal’s and then moved to Venti’s, said Mandel was well-known to him because he constantly complained about haircuts he got at Sal’s and other barbershops, often returning to Sal’s three times a day.

“He’d get a haircut and then come back 20 minutes later and want it re-cut,” Wingert said. “Or he would come in and say he’d just been someplace else where he got a bad cut. He’d want us to fix it, but there was nothing wrong.

“He was never happy with any haircut he ever got. It was a fetish.”

Wingert said the series of arson fires at Sal’s began late last month, after a day in which Mandel came in three times complaining about a haircut.

Ironically, Wingert said, Mandel kept his light-colored hair very short--a crew cut style that is difficult for a barber to make a mistake on.

“It looked like a dirty tennis ball,” Wingert said. “There is no such thing as a bad haircut with that.”