Police Capture Ventura Blvd. Arson Suspect

Police took a man in his 50s into custody Thursday morning in connection with the setting of six rubbish fires along a stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, authorities said.

The man was taken into custody around 12:05 a.m. near the intersection of Katherine Avenue and Moorpark Street, said Sgt. J. Hensley, watch commander at the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Station.

A Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator at the scene said the man matched the description of a suspect seen in the vicinity of the fires, which were set between 8:15 p.m. and 9:32 p.m. Wednesday along an eight-block stretch from the 13100 to the 13900 block of Ventura Boulevard.

A fire reported at 8:53 p.m. at 13912 Ventura Blvd. spread to the exteriors of a one-story commercial building and a two-story apartment building before being put out 17 minutes later by 35 firefighters, said the Los Angeles Fire Department's Katherine Main. Monetary damage from the blaze was estimated at $20,000, she said.

The man taken into custody had an outstanding felony arrest warrant, said the LAFD arson investigator.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fires.

-- City News Service