$350,000 Bail For Roommate Suspected Of Torching Residence
San Andreas, CA – A house fire led to a same-day arson arrest and a $350,000 bail for a local man.
Calaveras County Sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Greg Stark reports that 34-year-old John Rand of Copperopolis was taken into custody Monday afternoon following a residential structure fire in the 3200 block of Arrowhead Street that he allegedly ignited just after 10 a.m.
As reported here, within an hour of responders’ arrival, nearly three-fourths of the structure was destroyed. Stark notes that deputies were initially responding to a report of a verbal altercation and upon their arrival saw that the house was ablaze.
Deputies learned that Rand’s altercation with other occupants, including the owner, escalated once he learned of plans to place locks on some of the property’s interior doors to keep him from accessing private areas.
“The suspect made comment ‘the locks won’t stop me from entering’. Later on, the suspect fled to his bedroom after which the fire began,” Stark shares. He adds that while Rand was not on scene when deputies arrived, he was located nearby on Littlejohn Road. “Investigators determined that Rand was responsible for starting the fire that resulted in the near or complete loss of the residence.”
Rand is currently charged with arson of an inhabited structure with an enhancement for generating an elevated emergency.
