Posted on 01/10/2025 7:19:25 AM PST by Morgana
A homeless man allegedly trying to start a fire with a blowtorch was tackled and zip-tied by furious Los Angeles locals carrying out a citizens' arrest.
Locals claim the man was riding a bicycle around the Woodland Hills neighborhood on Thursday afternoon and carrying a large 'propane tank or a flamethrower'.
Community members claim they surrounded the man, brought him to the ground, and tied him up with zip ties after they allegedly saw him trying to set fire to an object behind a vehicle.
One local said the man was 'very focused on moving forward with the blow torch', telling FOX 11 the suspect said: 'I can't stop. I can't stop. I'm not putting this down. I'm doing this.'
Police were called to the 21700 block of Ybarra Road in Woodland Hills around 4.30pm, after the man was stopped by locals.
Local Renata Grinshpun recalled how the community 'really banded together as a group'. She told KTLA: 'A few gentlemen surrounded him and got him on his knees. They got some zip ties, a rope and we were able to do a citizens' arrest.'
LAPD has confirmed the cause of the unruly Kenneth Fire, which erupted late Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley and is rapidly tearing through the West Hills, is being investigated as a crime.
Authorities have one suspect in custody who is believed to have intentionally started a fire, but have confirmed the person's identity. It is currently unclear whether the man detained by Woodland Hills locals was found to have any connection to the wildfires or if he has been formally charged.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I could be wrong but I don’t think there have been deaths associated with this particular fire. Of course, if that was the case, they could charge him with felony murder
Probably stole it off a job site. Just a bbq tank and roofing torch used to for patio roofs... Very common.
Heck...maybe just a Coleman grill propane cylinder, even.
Well he probably just started his day doin a little lootin and finds the propane and torch - so any port in a storm eh?!
I intended to say “I will never understand this” not “U will never understand this”.
Even if they put him in jail for life he will be better off than he is now. Free room and board, medical, dental, entertainment.
That maybe just what they want. Free room and board and all the trimmings, heat, A/C.
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