A man charged with arson and a group of looters Attacking homes in evacuation zones amid the wildfires in Los Angeles County has been charged, officials said Monday.
The charges were filed against a group of people accused of home looting in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas, while arson charges were filed against a man in Azusa, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference .
“These are the people who want to exploit this tragedy for their own benefit,” Hochman said. “These are people who have committed looting and arson. We have also investigated price gouging and will investigate internet fraud and the like.”
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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the new conviction of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murder of their parents decades ago during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, January 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Three suspects, identified as Martrell Peoples, Damari Bell and Travon Coleman, committed home burglaries in Mandeville Canyon involving more than $200,000 worth of property hours after the fires started, Hochman said. They were seen on a Ring camera in a home, he said.
They were eventually linked to an apartment in Koreatown, where they were arrested. According to police, a number of stolen items were found in the home.
Peoples, who has suffered two previous strikes, faces a third, meaning he faces a possible life sentence under California’s Three Strikes Law, authorities said. Bell faces 22 years in prison.
Other defendants include Rudy Salazar and Lucia Jilrara Perez, each charged with two counts of first-degree home invasion in connection with looting in Altadena on Jan. 8 as the Eaton Fire raged. The pair are said to have entered two houses and were caught entering a third.
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Screenshot of suspects looting a home in Pacific Palisades. (Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
A third group of alleged looters stole from a home in Altadenaincluding an Emmy Award, which was recovered, authorities said. They were identified as Roy Sims, Ryan Sims Quan, Naquan Dewey Reddix and Pierie Obannon.
“In the Palisades area and the fires that we’ve had in Los Angeles, it’s not bad enough that we have potentially 40,000 people evacuated from an area, and then we get a handful of people who want to come up with activities to victimizing them,” said Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Blake Chow. “It’s not enough that they have to worry about their property, rebuilding and things like that.”
Arson suspect Jose Carranza-Escobar is accused of attempting to set fire to a large tree that had fallen to the ground in Pioneer Park. He was “seen next to the flames” and was immediately arrested, police said at the time of his arrest.
“During the investigation, Carranza admitted to starting the fire and was arrested for arson,” a police statement said.
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Azusa police have arrested Jose Carranza-Escobar, a 39-year-old homeless arson suspect, just steps away from a small wildfire they say he started as Los Angeles battles multiple major wildfires. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Escobar faces nine years in prison and is expected to be arraigned on Monday.
Authorities have warned would-be criminals not to target evacuated homes. In Santa Monicia, authorities have arrested at least 10 burglary suspects since the Palisades Fire started last week.
Altadena home looted during fires. (Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office)
Had six burglary tools among them, one couple had the Watch Duty app open on their phones to track evacuation zones, sources told Fox News. Santa Monica police said officers were able to stop the burglaries before they happened.
In total, Santa Monica police made 39 arrests in evacuation zones. None of the suspects live in the city.
(From left to right) Joshua Kaliel Love, Miguel Angel Dorantes, Gabriel Asaih Stokes and Dominic Pachecomanga were four of 10 suspects charged with breaking into the Palisades Fire evacuation zones in Santa Monica. (Santa Monica Police Department)
Those not charged with attempted burglary were arrested for curfew violations, drug possession, warrants and violation of probation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has made 34 arrests since the fires began. Sheriff Robert Luna said at a separate news conference on Monday.
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“This is a strong message from all of us: we are here and when we catch people, we mean business,” he said. “If you’re not doing legitimate business in these areas, stay away because our deputies are constitutionally stopping people, I might add, and they’re asking people questions.”
“We come with narcotics. We come with individuals carrying weapons. And guess what? None of them live in these areas,” he added.
