San Jose Man Arrested In Connection with Mountain View Arson Cases
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) -- Police in Mountain View on Thursday announced the recent arrest of a San Jose resident in connection with a pair of suspicious fires Tuesday that occurred within minutes of each other.
28-year-old San Jose man Antonio Bolanos was arrested at Rengstorff Park on Wednesday, less than a day after Mountain View officers responded to two fires in close proximity: one near the intersection of Latham Street and Escuela Avenue and the other at Rengstorff Park.
In the fire that was set on Latham Street, a palm tree was set on fire. A few minutes later, a Dumpster was lit on fire at Rengstorff Park. In both cases, the suspect was identified as a Hispanic male, 25 to 30 years old, wearing dark-colored clothing and black shoes with white soles.
Following the Dumpster fire, a Mountain View Parks employee informed police that he spotted a man who matched the suspect description in the park shortly after the fire and would contact authorities again if the suspect was spotted.
Wednesday morning, the same city employee contacted police to report the man was back at Rengstorff Park. Arriving officers responded and, after speaking with Bolanos for several minutes, determined that he was, in fact, the suspect in both arson cases.
Bolanos was subsequently arrested without incident. Further investigation revealed that Bolanos is currently out on bail for a vehicular manslaughter case out of San Jose.
Bolanos was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on two counts of suspicion of arson as well as for committing a felony while out on bail.