Woman Arrested For Starting Fire At East County Apartment Complex

EL CAJON, CA — A 43-year-old woman who is believed to be homeless was arrested Sunday on suspicion of starting a fire at an apartment complex in unincorporated El Cajon.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department received a call with information about the whereabouts of Mavis Williams just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to sheriff's officials.

A deputy from the sheriff's Lakeside substation responded to the 700 block of E. Bradley Avenue in unincorporated El Cajon, where he found Williams. She was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility on suspicion of recklessly causing a fire.

The fire was reported around 9:30 pm. Thursday in a row of 14 garages at the apartment complex in the 400 block of East Bradley Avenue, between state Route 67 and Mollison Avenue.

Firefighters from the Heartland, San Miguel and Lakeside fire departments and sheriff's deputies responded to multiple reports about the apartment fire, according to Detective Dan Wilson of the sheriff's Bomb/Arson Unit.

The fire took more than an hour to extinguish, Wilson said. Williams was identified Friday as the suspect. She and several other homeless people were living in the garage where the fire broke out, Wilson said. Williams allegedly fled the scene before investigators returned to the location.

— City News Service