Suspected Calexico arsonist arrested

The Calexico Police Department (CPD) said a suspected arsonist is now behind bars.

CPD arrested a man on Friday who is suspected of starting several fires in the city of Calexico.

The man was arrested on G. Cleveland Avenue, just a few feet away from Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

CPD said the man was wearing suspicious clothing and was holding a cereal box and lighter in his hands.

“The guy was walking around town with socks over his shoes, was concealing tattoos, and was concealing the color of his hair, and had a sleeve covering his face,” said Sergeant Armando Orozco, with Calexico Police Department.

Upon further investigation, CPD said the man was in possession of two Molotov cocktails.

“Its slang for an incendiary device, it’s usually a container with an igniter piece of cloth or piece of paper that you light up, inside the container, it has a flammable liquid and it’s usually used for arson,” said Orozco.

CPD said they caught the arsonist just in time before he was able to use the firebombs he had.

” Normally this is a pretty quiet neighborhood, I’ve never had issues before, so this arsonist is pretty surprising. It’s pretty scary knowing that it was right in front of my house, so I’m definitely going to get some cameras, ” said David Rivera, Calexico resident.

Calexico police and firefighters have been investigating a series of trash fires in Calexico since June.

The man arrested is an alleged Mexicali gang member with violent arrests in Mexico, according to CPD. Authorities added they are still investigating if the man arrested is connected to the series of arson fires.