Riverside man suspected of starting fire a month after parole for arson conviction

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- A convicted serial arsonist in Riverside is behind bars again, suspected of setting another fire less than a month after being paroled following his initial sentence.

George Alexander Hill, 39, is facing two counts of arson of property, as well as violation of parole. According to Riverside city fire officials, Hill provided a written statement saying he started the fire out of revenge.

"All of these incidents have been extremely dangerous, that's our main concern is public safety," said Capt. Ray Mendoza with the Riverside city fire department.

Hill was originally arrested on Dec. 18, 2022, suspected of starting a fire at a commercial building containing toys on View Park Court in Riverside. He was also suspected of starting a fire at a Walmart store on Van Buren Boulevard on Oct. 10, 2022.

Officials say both fires caused approximately $1.6 million in damage. According to the Riverside County district attorney' office, he pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2024, and was sentenced to two years eight months in state prison.

But he was paroled almost immediately.

Because Hill had been in custody since his initial arrest, he served a total of 489 days in custody, but was credited with another 488 days for good behavior. Since he was credited with more time than the actual sentence, he was immediately eligible for supervised parole, which was granted.

"That's the difficult part with any crimes nowadays is the judicial system is separate from what we do," said Mendoza. "At times it can be frustrating, I try to have our investigators not think about that but just do their job."