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Wednesday, local authorities announced they'd finally made an arrest of an arson suspect involved in the taxicab torching during the mayhem in the city streets after the Los Angeles Lakers 2010 championship win.
22-year-old Darren Cooper was identified based on tips submitted by the public, after the Los Angeles Police Department released graphic video footage of the incident, explains the Los Angeles Fire Department.
During the course of the almost 7-minutes of footage, people are seen letting the air out of the car's tires, throwing objects at the car, rocking the car, tagging the car, smashing the windows, jumping on the car, and more, to the continual shouts of glee from the crowd.
The above video is raw footage that includes foul language and violence.
Cooper has been charged with one count of arson for his alleged role in the incident.
Police, however, are still working to identify five other suspects.
In a press conference held yesterday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa seemed confident that they would ultimately nab all of the bad eggs who took celebration to mean destruction, according to City News Service:
"What should have been a day of celebration, a day of festivities, turned out to be a day where a small group of people -- when you look at the number of people that were here -- thought they'd engage in criminal activity and ... that it would just be OK; that they'd be one of many people in a crowd; that we wouldn't do much to figure out who did what. Well, we said back then that we had pictures, and we were going to work on this every day as much as we can until we find the people that did it."
The taxicab burning is considered the worst individual incident in a night of vandalism, arson, and disorderly conduct on the streets outside the Staples Center. The cab's driver, Abraham Teferi, said at the time he feared for his life and was struck when he got out and tried to get the attackers to stop. He said a man started the fire by tossing flaming rags or papers into the cab. Teferi was rescued from the vehicle by sheriff's deputies and police officers who saw the incident.
As compensation Teferi was awarded $10,000 from AEG, which owns the Staples Center.
Wednesday, city officials also issued preliminary caution to fans of L.A. sports teams about post-win behavior, considering how well the Kings, Lakers, and Clippers are doing.
