PITTSBURG — A 37-year-old Pittsburg man has been arrested as a suspect in arson fires late Monday night of multiple vehicles at a used car dealership and a fast food restaurant, authorities said.
The suspect is being held at the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of multiple counts of arson and a probation violation.
Three vehicles were set on fire after 11:50 p.m. Monday at the car dealership in the 2100 block of Railroad Avenue, and a fourth in the parking lot of a nearby Jack-in-the Box restaurant, authorities said. The total damage to all four vehicles was $86,000 officials said.
How the fires were started and what the motive was for the blazes remains under investigation.
They were all extinguished within about 20 minutes, officials said.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Hill said a district investigator found surveillance video from the restaurant and other nearby businesses which provided a description of the suspect.
The investigator then later spotted the suspect walking on Atlantic Avenue, about two blocks from the fires and he was detained and eventually arrested about 2:37 a.m. Tuesday, Hill said.
The district’s Fire Investigation Unit asks residents to help them fight the crime of arson across the county by calling the Arson Tip Line at 1-866-50-ARSON. They caution residents not to hesitate on information that seems too little or unimportant to matter, adding some of the most valuable tips come from residents who were not aware what they saw was very important to the investigation of an incident.
Residents can leave a recorded message on the tip line about fire-related criminal activity in English or Spanish. Tips can be anonymous, and all tips are treated confidentially. But investigators sometimes need additional information, and contact information is encouraged.