West Hills man sentenced for starting fire at Santa Monica sushi restaurant during May 2020 civil unrest

A West Hills man was sentenced to over a year in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to starting a fire at a Santa Monica sushi restaurant in May 2020, during a period of civil unrest that struck across the nation. 

Micah Tillmon, 19-years-old, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his actions - which caused significant damage to Sake House by Hikari, a popular sushi restaurant located on Santa Monica Boulevard and 4th Street.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device in Sept. 2021.

According to an affidavit presented at the time, surveillance footage from inside the restaurant shows Tillmon removing "a red tube-shaped object from his jacket, which he placed behind the reception desk area of the restaurant before walking away. Within seconds of that action, smoke and fire appeared from the area."

Santa Monica Police Department investigators noted that Tillmon had looted two stores prior to starting the fire. They were able to identify him as a suspect after scouring through a large number of social media posts and security videos in the area, one of which showed his Ford Explorer parking outside of the sushi restaurant just four minutes before the fire started. The same video then showed the vehicle reversing away from the scene five minutes after the fire started. 

He then proceeded to loot several other business in the area. 

Restitution in the incident still has yet to be determined.