Update: The suspect is Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, a Mexican national who is in the United States illegally, sources told The Post.
Woodland Hills residents say a man was riding a bicycle carrying a large blow torch and trying to set fire to several old Christmas trees and garbage cans. When the man rode away, neighbors followed him and eventually stepped in. He wasn’t arrested for arson, but was held for a parole violation.
One neighbor said that a group went up and grabbed the man, even zip-tying him at one point.
One police source told FOX 11 that the man arrested in Woodland Hills may be linked to the Franklin Fire.
During a press conference Friday morning, LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said there wasn’t enough evidence to arrest the man for arson or suspicion of arson. The man was, however, arrested on suspicion of a felony probation violation. The case is being investigated.
JUST IN: LAPD says there is no probable cause to charge the man walking around with a large blowtorch in LA with arson.
He must have just been trying to light a cigarette with a massive blowtorch!
The man was detained by local residents after they accused him of trying to… pic.twitter.com/MR9C8UdGlF
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 10, 2025
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