A group of neighbors chased down a man suspected of starting two brush fires Monday afternoon near the Chatsworth Reservoir and held him until Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene.
Alejandro Martinez, 41, was arrested on suspicion of arson, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators did not immediately respond to questions about the suspect or circumstances surrounding his arrest.
Video posted by Instagram user @gabeecortez showed a man running down a road being chased by a group of residents. Several members of the group physically detained Martinez.
“Wrong neighborhood, buddy,” someone said as deputies handcuffed him.
A suspect wearing dark clothing was spotted in the area around the time the fire started, the Sheriff’s Department told news station KNBC-TV. The person who reported the incident followed the suspect as he tried to start a second fire, the station reported.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the 24000 block of Woolsey Canyon Road just before 4:30 p.m. A caller reported smoke near the reservoir and the initial estimate was a 50-by-50-foot spot fire, according to LAFD spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz.
Firefighters on the ground and in the air were able to contain the blaze with additional help from the L.A. County Fire Department.
Martinez is being held on $75,000 bail at the Lost Hills sheriff’s station. Authorities say there was a warrant out for Martinez’s arrest, but did not provide any additional details.
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