Arson suspect arrested after string of suspicious fires in Sunland-Tujunga
Video shows the suspect as he pours an accelerant on the hood of a pickup truck, lights it on fire and then takes off.
SUNLAND-TUJUNGA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Police believe they have arrested the serial arsonist who has lit as many as 30 cars on fire in the Sunland-Tujunga area.
Video from Monday obtained by Eyewitness News shows the suspect on a bicycle as he pours an accelerant on the hood of a pickup truck, lights it on fire and then takes off. Police arrested him shortly after.
WATCH: Suspect lights truck on fire before fleeing
The truck belongs to Rich Poquette, who said he's heartbroken over the car fire.
It's been a rough couple of months for him. He just got home after three weeks in the hospital that saw him lose his foot. He and his wife were looking forward to getting back out and driving the truck they bought a few months ago.
"My wife came in and said the truck was on fire and she said something about arson and ran back out because the police were chasing him," said Poquette. "That's when I was able to get out in the wheelchair, sit out the front door and watch it burn."
His wife couldn't believe what was happening.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, we're a victim of this arsonist,'" she said. "It was so random. Everybody says it can't happen to you but maybe you shouldn't think that."
If it turns out the suspect is indeed the serial arsonist police have been looking for, the arrest brings an end to a long and destructive string of fires.
One woman lost two cars this month - one on May 1 and the other two weeks later when the car parked in front of hers was torched.
The Los Angeles Police Department has been looking for the suspect for weeks, but recent victims are left to wonder if he should have been caught long before Monday.
For Poquette, he wonders why it took so long.
"I was shocked to hear I was the 17th car, and then I hear it's 30 cars, and it's just kind of like, 'I'm wondering, personally, what happened? Why did it take so long to get something going?" he said.
Poquette said he bought limited insurance on the truck, but because it was relatively new, he said he still has full coverage insurance until the end of May.
