A 36-year-old man was charged this week with making an attempt to set hearth to a San Bernardino County church preschool and a strip mall on the identical day.
Jonathan Barajas Nava, from Albuquerque, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury within the Central District of California in reference to the crime, federal prosecutors introduced Wednesday. He was charged with two counts of tried destruction of property by way of hearth.
The collection of occasions started shortly after 1:30 p.m. on April 24 within the metropolis of Yucaipa, prosecutors mentioned.
A number of 911 callers mentioned {that a} man walked as much as the doorway of the Retreat Church and Yucaipa Christian Pre-College with a gasoline can, doused the doorway with a liquid after which lighted it on hearth, authorities mentioned.
There have been 48 kids and 14 employees members contained in the constructing on the time, however no person was injured, based on the indictment.
A neighbor who watched the suspect set the hearth ran towards the church entrance, pulled away the gasoline can and a door mat that had been on hearth and tried to stomp out the flames till firefighters arrived, based on courtroom paperwork.
Neighbors reported the suspect was driving a pickup truck with a loud muffler and carrying a hooded sweater when he set the hearth, based on the paperwork.
Shortly earlier than 5 p.m. on the identical day, a 911 caller mentioned they noticed a hearth at a strip mall a few mile away from the church. The strip mall contains 11 enterprise suites, together with an optometry middle, beauty retail retailer, hair salon and a bodily remedy workplace, based on courtroom paperwork.
The fireplace was set alongside a wall on the optometry middle close to a row of gasoline meters. San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies who arrived on the scene after the hearth was put out observed a powerful gasoline odor within the air together with burn marks on the sidewalk and wall, authorities mentioned.
Deputies additionally discovered a black gasoline can spout close to the gasoline meters, based on courtroom paperwork.
Investigators decided that the hearth on the church and the strip mall had been each set with an ignitable liquid, like gasoline, after which a lighter, authorities mentioned.
Shortly earlier than 6 p.m., a 911 caller reported a driver in a pickup truck was caught on high of a chain-linked fence and revving their engine. The driving force acquired out of the truck and jumped on the fence, however went again into the truck when a sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene a couple of minutes later, based on courtroom data.
The deputy advised the driving force to get out of the truck, however he didn’t seem to listen to the command, authorities mentioned. Because the deputy approached the automobile, the truck out of the blue burst into flames and the deputy heard the driving force scream. The motorist was later recognized as Barajas Nava.
The deputy opened the truck door and Nava fell to the bottom.
Considered one of his legs was on hearth, based on courtroom paperwork, and he rolled round on the bottom to place out the hearth. The deputy handcuffed Barajas Nava, who appeared disoriented and unable to answer any questions requested of him.
By this time, the truck was absolutely engulfed in flames. The deputy pulled Nava away from the hearth and referred to as firefighters to the scene, authorities mentioned. The deputy additionally eliminated some gadgets from the truck, together with a black beanie.
Nava was handled on the scene.
Investigators realized that Nava was on probation stemming from a July 2022 incident by which he pleaded responsible to setting a church on hearth in Albuquerque, based on courtroom paperwork.
Cops discovered Nava’s driver’s license close to the scene of the New Mexico church hearth and situated him about an hour after the hearth was first reported, based on authorities. Police discovered him roughly a mile away from the church standing outdoors a automobile that matched the outline of a automobile noticed close to the crime scene.
When deputies discovered Nava, he was making an attempt to set hearth to a gasoline pump and drove away as police approached him, authorities mentioned. He led police on a high-speed pursuit and tried to crash into a number of police automobiles, authorities mentioned.
He finally crashed, ran away, grabbed an officer’s gun and punched one other officer whereas he was positioned beneath arrest, based on courtroom paperwork.
Nava was in violation of his five-year probation time period on the time of his arrest in San Bernardino County on April 24, authorities mentioned.
Nava is about to look in courtroom on Tuesday in Riverside in reference to the Yucaipa incidents.
