Arson suspect arrested in San Francisco's Outer Richmond following suspicious school fires
An arson suspect was arrested in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood following suspicious fires at a nearby elementary school, police said Wednesday.
On May 18, a fire destroyed playground equipment at Lafayette Elementary School and 37th Avenue. On May 1, another fire burned a storage container at the school, damaging or destroying everything inside it. The San Francisco Fire Department was determining whether both fires were set intentionally.
On Monday, the San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that plainclothes officers patrolling the area of Balboa and La Playa Streets, about 10 blocks west of the school, observed a man igniting objects while walking in Balboa Natural Area park, police said. The officers later saw a large active working fire and the Fire Department was called to put it out.
Officers canvassed the area and located 29-year-old Joseph Martinez. He was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail on charges of arson, possession of an incendiary device to set fire to a structure or forest land, and drug possession charges.
Police said the officers were working with the Fire Department in their joint Arson Task Force to investigate the cases. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Police Department at 415-575-4444 or send a text to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
