LOS ANGELES, CA – On Sunday, a man was spotted from a Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) helicopter moving through a brushy area, igniting “multiple additional fires,” according to the LAFD.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were called to the scene to apprehend the man, but the fire quickly got out of control, and the deputies were forced to turn back.
A short time later, a private security guard saw the same man running from the fire in the 1200 block of Palisades Drive. Police quickly arrived at the scene and took him into custody.
The man who initially gave police a false name, has been identified as 48-year-old Ramon Santos-Rodriguez.
Santos-Rodriguez has been charged with arson and is now being held at the Los Angeles County Jail on 350,000 bail.
The Palisades Fire has destroyed 1,158 acres of land, and forced many people from their homes, according to a LAFD news release.
*Because California is a 'sanctuary state,' the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office is no longer allowed to place ICE holds on suspect's, nor list an inmate's immigration status in their online booking log. However, a source within that department has confirmed that Santos-Rodriguez is in the country illegally.
Instead, public officials as well as the mainstream media have been focusing on the fact that Santos-Rodriguez is homeless.
