Sheriff’s Arson Unit Probes 16 Recent Fires

Investigators said a fire in east Compton on Thursday night may be the latest in a series of arson cases in Paramount and Compton since October.

Details of Thursday’s fire matched the others, said Sgt. Larry Krookshanks of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s arson unit. As in previous cases, small items were stolen from the home at 4929 E. San Marcus St. before the fire was set, he said.

Seven cases have been reported in Paramount, nine in Compton. Of the 16 fires, “we are relatively positive that at least 15 of them fit the serial arsonist M.O.,” Krookshanks said. Eight have occurred since Jan. 1.

“He’s been very active and brazen,” Krookshanks said. The perpetrator took “small carryable items--anything he could stick in his pockets.”

Those involved are “committing the burglary, and as a parting gesture, setting a fire inside the location and leaving it to burn,” he said.

The crimes have all taken place within a three- to four-mile radius, Krookshanks said.

Some single-family homes and vacant houses were hit, but most incidents occurred in apartment complexes, he said. Entry was gained through windows despite security bars, Krookshanks said. The intruder either bent the bars to gain access or defeated the security mechanism entirely.

No one has been injured in the fires. Damage to the homes ranged from very minor to rather extensive, estimated at several thousand dollars, Krookshanks said.

Most of the fires were set between 6 and 8:30 p.m. when the apartments were empty, he said. People were in other units in the buildings, however.

A victim saw the suspect as he fled the scene of a fire Dec. 25. The man is described as a Latino in his mid-20s, between 5 feet 5 and 5 feet 8 and weighing 160 to 180 pounds.