6 Suspected Of Setting Fires Amid Massive LA Wildfires Charged

LOS ANGELES, CA — Nine more people have been charged with crimes committed during the worst wildfire disasters in Los Angeles County history, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Friday.

The bulk of the charges center on alleged acts of arson committed as flames tore through entire neighborhoods, taking dozens of lives, destroying thousands of buildings and cloaking Los Angeles County in ash and sorrow.

In all six people faced arson charges, and three others were charged with crimes related to looting or burglary in evacuation zones, according to prosecutors.

“To anyone who believes they can use this disaster as a cover for criminal activity, let this be your warning: you will be caught, and you will be held accountable,” Hochman said. “The citizens of this county deserve safety and justice, especially in the wake of such unprecedented devastation, and I will not rest until we achieve both.”

Arson Amid Wildfires

According to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office:

• Luis Felipe Gudino, 28, is charged with one count of felony arson during a state of emergency. The charge involved great violence, great bodily harm or threat of great bodily harm. Gudino is being held on a bail amount of $350,000. If convicted as charged, he faces seven years in prison.
  According to prosecutors, Guidino ignited a couch at the rear of an apartment building in the city of South Gate on Monday. The fire spread from the couch to a nearby utility pole and surrounding area before being extinguished by the LA County Fire Department. The utility pole was damaged, and an apartment building exterior was charred.
• Richard Alexander Peterson, 36, a third-striker, is charged with one count of felony arson during a state of emergency. He is being held on a bail amount set at $1,350,000. If convicted as charged, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
  On Monday, Peterson allegedly dragged a Christmas tree onto the sidewalk in front of a motel in the city of South Gate and ignited it.
• Omar Lopez, 35, is charged with two counts of felony arson during a state of emergency. The charge involved great violence, great bodily harm or threat of great bodily harm. Lopez is being held on a bail amount of $350,00. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted as charged, he faces eight years, eight months in prison.
  On Jan Tuesday, Lopez allegedly lit a dried Christmas tree on fire that was on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building at 6915 Templeton St., in the city of Huntington Park. According to prosecutors, he then ignited a larger tree in a courtyard of a nearby building.
• Manuel Rodriguez, 35, is charged with one count of felony arson during a state of emergency and one felony count of arson of property of another. If convicted as charged, he faces seven years, eight months in prison.
  Rodriguez is accused of starting a fire inside a dumpster behind the closed Donald Bruce Kaufman Brentwood Branch Library at 11820 San Vicente Blvd. on Monday.
• Travis Glodt, 34, is charged with three counts of felony arson of property of another. He was arraigned, and a doubt was declared as to his competency, according to the district attorney's office. Proceedings were suspended, and the case was sent to the mental health court for further proceedings. If convicted as charged, he faces four years and four months in prison.
  Goldt is accused of starting fires using a lighter along Hawthorne Boulevard in the city of Hawthorne on Monday. He allegedly started a fire to a Hawthorne city water shut off valve and vegetation at 11601 Hawthorne Blvd., gathered up trash against the wall/front door at 11939 Hawthorne Blvd. and lit it, then lit bushes on fire next to a cement post at a store located at 11983 Hawthorne Blvd.
• Leopoldo Reveles, 49, is charged with two counts of felony arson of property of another. His bail was set at $100,000. If convicted as charged, he faces three years, eight months in prison.
  Reveles is accused of using a blow torch to light trash on fire next to the train tracks at Carlin Avenue and Alameda Street in an evacuation zone in the city of Compton, causing a fire and damaging a fire hydrant on Monday.

Looting, Burglary, Gun Possession

According to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office:

• Keyshon Walker, 22, is charged with one count of felony unlawful possession of ammunition: prohibited by a prior conviction; one count of felony possession of a firearm by a felon; one count of misdemeanor possession of burglar's tools; and one count of misdemeanor interference at scene of emergency. He is being held on $125,000 bail. He has pleaded not guilty.
  Prosecutors allege Walker was stopped while driving in an evacuation zone on Jan. 10, and police found in his vehicle .357 ammunition and an AR15 magazine, along with a drone, walkie talkies, burglary tools, gloves, and a window punch tool.
• Joshua Love, 29, is charged with one count of felony looting during an emergency or evacuation; one count of felony attempted second-degree burglary; one count of misdemeanor possession of burglary tools; one count of felony unauthorized entry of closed disaster area; one count of misdemeanor interference at the scene of emergency; one count of misdemeanor trespass by entering and occupying; and one count of misdemeanor possession of injection/ingestion device.
  Love is being held on $160,000 bail. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted as charged, he faces seven years and two months in prison.
  Prosecutors allege that Love attempted to burglarize an apartment complex at 416 San Vicente in the city of Santa Monica on Saturday.
• Ivan Cedric Reed, 34, is charged with one felony count of receiving stolen property exceeding $950 in value; one misdemeanor count of impersonating a firefighter; one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a badge; and one misdemeanor count of unauthorized entry of closed disaster area. If convicted as charged, he faces four years state prison to be served in the county jail.
  Prosecutors allege Reed wore a yellow firefighter jacket and had a first responders’ radio in a mandatory evacuation area at 18343 Clifftop Way in the city of Malibu. They allege he told deputies he was a firefighter.