LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Los Angeles police have arrested a man they believe set fire to several vehicles and structures in the San Fernando Valley earlier this year.
The fires were set on the evening of Oct. 20 in the Sherman Oaks area, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Several vehicles, dumpsters and a utility building were set on fire along Ventura Boulevard and Kester Street, police said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished the fires and immediately determined that they were the result of arson.
An investigation was launched by the LAPD’s Major Crimes Division, which eventually identified 42-year-old Ricardo Villanueva of Van Nuys as the suspect.
A wanted flyer with Villanueva’s photo and description was distributed to law enforcement which helped lead to his arrest on Thursday during an unrelated traffic stop in Van Nuys.
Villanueva was taken into custody and arrested on suspicion of arson for the October fire spree. He’s currently being held at the Valley Jail in Van Nuys on $230,000 bail.
The arrest of Villanueva comes the same day that several cars and a building were set ablaze in the Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks area. Authorities have not said if the fires are related.
In November, several Sherman Oaks residents voiced concern that their neighborhood was being targeted by a serial arsonist.
