THOUSAND OAKS : Arraignment in Arson Case Delayed
Arraignment for the suspect charged with the arson of a Thousand Oaks comic-book store was postponed Wednesday because he is getting a new attorney.
Christopher Nagano, 20, will be arraigned Tuesday in Ventura County Municipal Court. He is in the process of hiring attorney Louis B. Samonsky, who said he would seek a reduction in Nagano’s $500,000 bail at the arraignment hearing.
The Heroes and Legends comic-book store was gutted by fire on Sept. 18. Initially, the arson was believed to be a hate crime because swastikas and other anti-Semitic writing was spray-painted on the building. But prosecutors have since discounted that theory.
During their investigation, prosecutors obtained an eight-minute videotape of the fire made by an unidentified person. It shows someone breaking the glass in the transom above the front door, lighting an unidentified object and throwing it inside where it burst into flames.
Samonsky said Nagano did not videotape the fire, nor is he shown on the tape.
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