Police arrested a Hollister man they believe ignited a fire at
an apartment complex on Valley View Road in July that destroyed
four cars and a carport, and could have caused significantly more
damage after the structure collapsed on several gas meters,
according to police.
Hollister – Police arrested a Hollister man they believe ignited a fire at an apartment complex on Valley View Road in July that destroyed four cars and a carport, and could have caused significantly more damage after the structure collapsed on several gas meters, according to police.
Hollister police booked 22-year-old Nicholas Correa into the San Benito County Jail for felony arson Tuesday, after a lengthy investigation into the crime which incinerated a 150-foot carport, burned the cars beyond recognition and nearly inflamed three apartment complexes in the 1500 block of Valley View Road in late July. Police believe Correa started a relative’s car on fire, which spread to the other cars and carport, because of a family dispute, according to Hollister Police Detective Rudy Rodriguez.
As the carport burned, it fell on three gas meters connected to several apartment complexes on Sunnyslope Road, which runs parallel to Valley View Road, and could have caused a “block-big fire,” Rodriguez said.
“That could have been so ugly,” he said.
But Hollister firefighters were ready for the structure’s collapse and were on hand, along with Pacific Gas and Electric personnel, to prevent an explosion, said Hollister Fire Chief Bill Garringer.
“The fire would have spread that way anyway,” he said. “Because of that we had hose lines in place when the wall fell against it.”
To start the fire, Correa allegedly splashed some type of flammable liquid, which was then lit on fire, on one of the cars parked under the carport which belongs to a family member of his who he was having a dispute with, Rodriguez said.
The fire quickly spread to the nearby cars and the carport, and by the time Hollister firefighters arrived, 60-foot flames were shooting into the air and licking the sides of the three nearby complexes on Valley View Road, according to police and fire officials.
Although everyone living inside the complexes was evacuated and no one was injured or displaced, Garringer said the heat from the flames was so intense it cracked all the windows within 40 feet. The fire caused upwards of $30,000 in damage, according to Hollister Fire Capt. Mike O’Connor.
Police fingered Correa as a suspect for the arson soon after the incident because a witness to the early morning fire saw him driving away in a white utility truck, Rodriguez said. The witness followed the man several blocks to where he dumped the vehicle, which had sustained burns to the side of it, but police were unable to find him, Rodriguez said. However, evidence was collected, such as fingerprints, personal documents and samples of the flammable liquid which had sprayed onto the truck he was driving, he said.
While all leads to Correa’s whereabouts in Hollister turned up cold, the detective received a tip that Correa had fled to Idaho where he had family, but would be returning to Hollister this month.
“A little birdie told me he’d be coming back to Hollister on Aug. 12,” Rodriguez said. “And on that day he was arrested at the San Jose airport when he was getting off the plane by San Jose PD.”
San Jose Police officers arrested Correa on Monday on several warrants, including a drug possession charge, Rodriguez said. He was then transported to San Benito County, where he was booked on the warrants and later the felony arson charge. He is in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to jail personnel.
If convicted of the felony arson charge, Correa faces up to eight years in state prison, according to the California Penal Code.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
