Teen Partiers Suspected In Mountain View House Fire, 14 Arrested
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) -- Police have arrested 14 teens in connection with a two-alarm arson fire at an unoccupied Mountain View home where the suspects allegedly stole a car and hosted multiple drug and alcohol-fueled parties.
Officers arrested 18-year-old Gilbert Gomes for alleged burglary and child endangerment and Brandon Pak, also 18, on suspicion of the same charges in addition to allegedly providing marijuana to juveniles, according to Mountain View police spokesman Sgt. Saul Jaeger.
The remaining 12 suspects' names are being withheld because they are minors.
The arrests stemmed from a joint police and fire investigation into a two-alarm arson fire at a home in the 700 block of Fordham Way in the early hours of March 16.
Police and fire personnel who responded to the blaze learned that someone had started a fire inside the home and drove off in the homeowner's Audi. The car has since been recovered, police said.
The Santa Clara County Fire Investigation Task Force and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted Mountain View police with an investigation that revealed that suspects held multiple large parties at the unoccupied home between March 7 and March 16.
Police said the parties featured heavy alcohol and drug use and were attended by students from surrounding high schools and a local college.
On the morning of March 16, three teens started a fire inside the home and were unable to extinguish it, according to Jaeger.
After the fire, detectives served multiple search warrants at homes in Mountain View and Los Altos that led to the 14 arrests, police said.
Police said more arrests are expected as the investigation continues.
Anyone with additional information about this case is encouraged to call Mountain View police at (650) 903-6344. Anonymous tips may be sent via text message to 274637 with "mvtips" included in the body of the message.
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