A man accused of arson and a group of looters targeting homes in evacuation zones amid the wildfires raging in Los Angeles County have been charged, officials said Monday.
The charges were filed against a group of people accused of residential looting in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas, while arson charges were brought against a man in Azusa, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a news conference.
“These are the people who are seeking to exploit this tragedy for their own benefit,” Hochman said. “These are people who have engaged in looting and arson. We’ve also investigated price gouging and will be investigating internet scams and the like.”
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Three suspects identified as Martrell Peoples, Damari Bell and Travon Coleman committed residential burglaries in Mandeville Canyon to the tune of more than $200,000 worth of goods hours after the fires began, Hochman said. They were spotted on a Ring camera inside a home, he said.
They were eventually linked to an apartment in Koreatown, where they were arrested. A number of stolen items were recovered from that home, officials said.
Peoples, who has two previous strikes, faces a third, meaning he is looking at a potential life sentence under California’s Three Strikes Law, authorities said. Bell faces 22 years in prison.
Others charged also include Rudy Salazar and Lucia Jilrara Perez, who face two counts each of first-degree residential burglary in connection with looting in Altadena on Jan. 8 as the Eaton Fire raged. The pair allegedly entered two homes and were caught while entering a third.
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A third set of alleged looters stole from a home in Altadena, including an Emmy Award, which was recovered, authorities said. They were identified as Roy Sims, Ryan Sims Quan, Naquan Dewey Reddix, and Pierie Obannon.
“In the Palisades area and the fires that we’ve experienced in Los Angeles, isn’t it bad enough we have 40,000 people potentially, that have been evacuated from an area, and then we get a handful of people that want to come up with activity to go victimize them,” said Los Angeles assistant police Chief Blake Chow. “It’s not enough that they have to worry about their properties and rebuilding and things like that.”
The arson suspect, Jose Carranza-Escobar, is accused of attempting to light a large tree on fire that had fallen to the ground at Pioneer Park. He was seen “standing next to the flames” and was promptly detained, police said at the time of his arrest.
“During the investigation, Carranza admitted to starting the fire and was arrested for Arson,” a police statement said.
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Escobar faces nine years in prison and was expected to be arraigned Monday.
Authorities have warned potential criminals from targeting homes that have been evacuated. In Santa Monicia, authorities have arrested at least 10 burglary suspects since the Palisades Fire began last week.
Six had burglary tools with them, one pair had the Watch Duty app open on their phone to track evac zones, sources told Fox News. The Santa Monica Police Department said officers were able to stop the burglaries before they took place.
Overall, Santa Monica police have made 39 arrests in evacuation zones. None of the suspects live in the city.
Those not charged with attempted burglary were picked up for curfew violations, drug possession, warrants and probation violations. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has made 34 arrests since the start of the fires, Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday in a separate news conference.
“This is a strong message from all of us, that we are here and when we catch people, we mean business,” he said. “If you do not have any legitimate business in these areas, stay out because our deputies are stopping people in a constitutional manner, I may add, and they are asking people questions.”
“We’re coming up with narcotics. We’re coming up with individuals who are carrying guns. And guess what? None of them live in these areas,” he added.
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