Man Arrested in Fire at Police Lot

A man described by police as “either deranged or under the influence of drugs” was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of setting fire to a covered parking lot at the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division station, destroying seven motorcycles and a fleet of 12 patrol bicycles.

Richard Cross, 43, a Van Nuys-area transient who police said lives in his van, was booked on suspicion of arson and is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Shortly after 1:30 a.m., Cross entered the lobby of the station on Sylmar Avenue seeking help for a bleeding forearm, authorities said.

“We were calling for medical help for him when all of a sudden he bolted out the door,” said Los Angeles Police Department Lt. David Storaker. “... Anyone who comes in here with an unexplained injury and then goes running off, well, he’s either deranged or under the influence of drugs.”

Cross jumped a small wall and ran into the covered parking lot below the station’s jail, where he allegedly set a fire that ignited a pallet of at least 100 flares stored there, Storaker said.

“We don’t know yet exactly how the fire started, but the flares played a major factor,” Sgt. Steve Gottschalk said.

The fire’s heat dislodged tiles from the parking lot’s back wall and buckled its metal roof. Black smoke stained the outside walls of the structure. Five police cars were slightly damaged and three storage sheds were destroyed.

Thirty firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished the blaze in less than 15 minutes, authorities said. There were no injuries.

Cross was found inside one of the parked patrol cars.

“He made statements or gave the impression that there may be some kind of explosive device in his van,” Gottschalk said. “He said something like, ‘If the officers get close to the van, they better be careful.’ ”

Police summoned the bomb squad, shut down Burbank Boulevard between Tyrone and Hazeltine avenues, evacuated 80 to 100 residents in the immediate area and deployed a robot to open the rear doors of the van. No explosives were found.

Replacing the motorcycles and bicycles would cost at least $90,000, said Officer Jason Lee of LAPD press relations. The cost of repairing the building and the damaged patrol cars has yet to be determined.