Hollister
– The 17-year-old Hollister boy arrested in connection with
Sunday’s Target arson will be arraigned in juvenile court
Monday.
Hollister – The 17-year-old Hollister boy arrested in connection with Sunday’s Target arson will be arraigned in juvenile court Monday.
Officer Rosie Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department, said no further arrests are expected and the suspect, whom police cannot identify because of his age, is cooperating. She declined to comment on whether the suspect had confessed to the crime. Betanio added that police could not speculate on the boy’s motive.
Attorney Greg LaForge was retained to represent the suspect on Thursday.
“The family did retain me to represent him and at this point I have no further comment until after receiving a (police) report,” LaForge said.
The boy turned himself in to the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office shortly after 3pm Wednesday, according to deputies.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller told the Free Lance on Wednesday that detectives are investigating the boy’s involvement in another fire, but declined to give further details on the second incident.
The suspect described himself in a personal page on the Web site MySpace.com.
“I like to do stupid stuff,” stated the suspect’s “About me” section. “I like to be stupid and act like an idiot.”
One visitor to the suspect’s MySpace page posted this comment: “(the suspect) is in juvy and he might be there for a while so good luck and hope you get out soon buddy,” at 8:21pm Wednesday.
Another visitor to the suspect’s MySpace page commented “allright so let (sic) the trash can on fire what lol,” just four days prior to the Target shopping center fire.
The suspect is being held at the San Benito County Juvenile Hall without bail while awaiting arraignment.
If convicted as an adult of felony arson of an inhabited building, the suspect could face up to eight years in state prison, according to the California Penal Code. If convicted as a juvenile, the boy could be held until the age of 25.
The Sunday evening two-alarm fire drove shoppers and workers from the crowded Target store and required four area fire departments, seven fire vehicles and 32 firefighters to contain it. The store reopened Tuesday morning following outlying area Target employees’ two-night cleaning and restocking effort.
The fire began at 6:28pm in the grocery section in the northeast part of the store, Hollister Police Capt. Bob Brooks told the Free Lance on Monday. Firefighters had the fire under control by 7:39pm.
Even as firefighters arrived to battle the blaze Sunday, traffic continued into the Target parking lot. Dozens of teenagers used their cell phone cameras to snap photos of the smoke billowing from the still fully lit store as emergency vehicles arrived in waves. Fire damaged a 400-square-foot area of the store, Brooks said. There was heavy smoke and water damage throughout the building, he said.
When Target opened at 8am Tuesday, crews had sectioned off the easternmost aisles of the store with plastic sheets from floor to ceiling.
No estimate of the damage caused by the fire has been released.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
