Sausalito police arrest man over series of fires Wednesday
SAUSALITO -- Sausalito officers arrested a man accused of starting fires in the city on Wednesday.
According to Sausalito police, they were alerted to a brush fire near Bridgeway at Marinship Way around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday. Crews were able to quickly extinguish it.
About 20 minutes later, emergency personnel received a report of a small trashcan fire at Sausalito Yacht Harbor. Sausalito officers and Marin County firefighters arrived in the area, extinguished the fire, and began searching and collecting evidence for potential arson "due to the close proximity and timing of the two fires", police said.
Another report of a small fire came in around 30 minutes later, this time from the area of Second Street at Sausalito Boulevard. Police said following the alert, they became increasingly concerned that someone might be intentionally sparking the fires.
When they arrived at the third location, officers and Southern Marin Fire crews saw a green waste bag on fire in a carport.
As they were putting out this fire, they were again alerted to a fourth fire rapidly spreading on Alexander Avenue near East Road due to strong wind gusts.
Police said while firefighters contained the latest fire, an officer saw someone riding a bike on the Sausalito Lateral. Due to prior encounters, the officer stopped and questioned the suspect, who allegedly made incriminating statements and was caught with evidence of arson.
The unidentified suspect, a 59-year-old man, was arrested and booked into the Marin County jail for suspected arson. His bail was set at $50,000, police said.
No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged by the series of fires, according to police.
Anyone with relevant information about the case is asked to contact the Sausalito Police Department at (415) 289-4170.