Los Angeles locals have had it with “unhoused” criminals starting fires throughout the city, and they’re taking matters into their own hands.
In early January, when the Palisades and Eaton Fires were raging, people in the Woodland Hills section of the San Fernando Valley detained a violent homeless man (who was in the country illegally) who was walking around with what was described as a flamethrower, and who was lighting discarded Christmas trees and other debris on fire.
READ MORE: Man Seen Detained by Citizens With Blowtorch Near LA Wildfires ID’d As Illegal Immigrant
And this week, just a few miles away, a group of residents chased, tackled, and detained a man who’d just started a fire on Woolsey Canyon Road, near where the deadly 2018 Woolsey Fire started. That man, Alejandro Martinez, was arrested on charges of arson, and the fire was extinguished before it could do any damage. (Thankfully, there was a slight drizzle and no wind that day, or things could have been much worse.)
As Martinez was handcuffed, a female can be heard yelling, “Wrong neighborhood, buddy!”
In this view, you can see that one of the citizens is utilizing his 2nd Amendment rights.
Martinez is being held on $75,000 bail, charged with one count of felony arson of a structure or forest and one count of felony attempt to burn in case 25SFCF00215. He also faces an aggravated circumstance of increasing seriousness of prior convictions, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. Martinez entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday and is due back in court on February 13.
He is also being held without bail on a different charge, a 2024 felony vandalism charge for which he was on probation. It’s unknown what actions led to Martinez’s felony vandalism charge, but it must have been severe because that charge was brought when George Gascon was still the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
So far, there’s no word on Martinez’s immigration status.
Homeless people are responsible for a massive number of fires in Los Angeles each year. In May 2024 NBC Los Angeles published the results of an investigation into homeless fires:
LA Fire Department data for the last five calendar years, obtained by the I-Team, shows the number of fires related to homeless people has been steadily climbing. There were 13,909 homeless fires in 2023, almost double the number of such fires in 2020.
In a press release announcing the charges against Martinez, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said:
“As we continue to recover from the devastation of recent wildfires, this case is a stark reminder of the grave threat alleged arsonists pose to our communities. We have seen firsthand the destruction, displacement, and loss of life caused by these senseless acts. Let me be clear — if you intentionally set fire to our land, endanger our residents, and threaten our first responders, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
With LAPD, LA Sheriff’s Department, and both city and county fire departments facing severe personnel shortages, and the ongoing issues with arson in the area, these instances of neighborhood policing are destined to become the new normal.