One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Da Vinci Fire Suspect Caught Carrying Fuel On Video, Official Says
The day after the fire (Photo by Eugene Lee/LAist)
An LAFD official said that investigators now have video of a suspect in the huge downtown Los Angeles fire that destroyed the partially built Da Vinci apartments near the 110 Freeway. Last week, Battalion Chief Steve Ruda of the L.A. Fire Department told a group of about 20 members of Echo Park's neighborhood council about some new developments in the ongoing investigation, the L.A. Times reports. While a suspect has yet to be arrested, Ruda said they have surveillance footage that causes them to believe that the suspect parked his car on the 110 Freeway, then walked into the unfinished building carrying cans of fuel. After lighting the blaze, he fled. Ruda's statements were recorded by an audience member.
Peter Sanders, an LAFD spokesman, said via an emailed statement to the Times that he couldn't verify or deny Ruda's claim. "To protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot at this time discuss details of the evidence collected thus far," he said.
The December 8 fire destroyed a huge part of the controversial, unfinished Geoffrey Palmer development, shut down part of the 110 Freeway and took 250 firefighters to put out. Investigators determined arson to be the cause of the fire several days later, after looking through 75,000 square feet of ruins and sending some evidence to the ATF's National Laboratory. They also interviewed several neighbors and brought in an expert accelerant sniffing dog named Major.
There is currently a $170,000 reward up for grabs for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the fire.
Related: Photos: The Ruins Of The Epic Inferno That Took Out Downtown's Least Favorite Development
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
