Unhappy Palo Alto Man Sets Fire To Boss's Home

PALO ALTO – A 26-year-old Palo Alto man was arrested last weekend for setting fire to the occupied home of his former supervisor.

Palo Alto Police say Muhammad Hassan Khan was taken into custody without incident at his Webster Street home. He was charged with two felonies.

According to Palo Alto authorities, on Saturday, January 9, 2016, at about 6:19 a.m., the police 24-hour dispatch center received a 9-1-1 call from a resident in the 3400 block of Kenneth Drive reporting that their garage was on fire. Officers and personnel from the Palo Alto Fire Department responded to the scene; another resident had extinguished the fire with a garden hose prior to their arrival, according to police.

The police investigation revealed that shortly before the 9-1-1 call, the three victims (a couple in their fifties and a teenaged juvenile) were awakened by a smoke detector in their attached garage. They discovered the garage was full of smoke.

Police say when the adult female victim went to open the garage door, she burned her hand. They say the male victim went outside and saw that the exterior of the garage, including the driveway itself, was on fire. He used a garden hose to put the fire out.

Personnel from the Palo Alto Fire Department treated the minor burn injury at the scene; no one else was injured. The victims’ garage sustained moderate to major damage.

Detectives and investigators from the Palo Alto Fire Department opened an arson investigation immediately.

Palo Alto detectives were able to quickly identify Khan as a possible suspect, who they say was a disgruntled former employee of the male victim.

On Sunday, January 10, detectives arrested Khan at his home in the 500 block of Webster Street in Palo Alto.

Police booked Khan at the Santa Clara County Main Jail for arson of an inhabited dwelling and attempted murder (both felonies).

According to authorities, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has since filed one felony count of arson of an inhabited dwelling against the suspect, with an enhancement for using an accelerant.

The investigation is continuing; when the complete investigation is submitted, the District Attorney’s Office may choose to amend the filed charge(s) as appropriate.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Palo Alto Police 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413.

Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through their free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

-image via Palo Alto PD