Citrus Heights Woman Captured on Surveillance Video Before Arson Arrest
CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) - A house fire in Citrus Heights has quickly turned into a criminal case and an arrest.
Sacramento Metro Fire Department investigators and Citrus Heights police arrested homeowner Justina Daggett for arson, only hours after the fire at her house was put out.
Cellphone video shows the flames shooting out of the Locher Way home at 2:30 a.m Tuesday with firefighters on scene.
And neighbor's surveillance camera video showed Daggett before firefighters arrived, running through a driveway and then in and out of a front yard.
Police arrested her for felony arson and using a flammable substance to start the fire in her home.
Sac Metro fire says arson arrests at the scene of house fires like this are rare.
"What made this case so much different is that we had a suspect that was still on scene," Battalion Chief Chris Vestal said, "and we were able to actually approach them, and contact, identify them."
Neighbors Mina Endrawes and his 7-year-old son Lurenzo were asleep when the fire started.
"And his room is downstairs and right next to it," Endrawes said.
A Citrus Heights police officer woke the 7-year-old up to get him to safety.
"I would like to say to her thank you for helping me get out because my room was the most closest room to the fire," Endrawes said.
The Endrawes family only moved in two months ago and had a good relationship with Daggett, who's now under arrest for arson.
"I'm kinda upset you know," Mina Endrawes said. "We have to take a moment to think about what we are going to do, especially when it comes to other people's lives."
An overnight house fire put a neighborhood in danger. And a homeowner caught on surveillance camera fleeing the very flames, arson investigators now say she started herself.
The homeowner's boyfriend was also in the house when the fire started. He was also able to escape unharmed. He is not facing charges.