By Brett Rowland and Michael Van Cassell
Hollister
– Police arrested a 17-year-old Hollister boy on Wednesday who
they say is the sole suspect in Sunday’s arson at the Target store
on Airline Highway.
Hollister – Police arrested a 17-year-old Hollister boy on Wednesday who they say is the sole suspect in Sunday’s arson at the Target store on Airline Highway.
The boy turned himself in to the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office shortly after 3pm Wednesday, Lt. Roy Iler said. Because of the suspect’s age, he is not being identified.
“He walked in and stated he wanted to talk to someone and turn himself in for setting fires,” Iler said.
Iler immediately contacted his Hollister Police Department counterparts who were investigating the arson. Police had already identified the boy and were planning to arrest him today, Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said.
“We had already identified him as the prime suspect,” Miller said Wednesday. “His arrest was imminent.”
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.
No estimate of the damage caused by the fire has been released.
Miller said police detectives are investigating the boy’s involvement in another fire, but declined to give further details on the second incident.
Miller said that, to the best of his knowledge, the boy, who is a student at San Benito High School, did not work at Target. He declined to speculate on a motive for the crime.
Target security cameras “were a key element in identifying” the suspect, Miller said.
The quick arrest was the result of cooperation between Target officials and store security personnel, fire investigators and police detectives.
“Right from the beginning Target was very cooperative and put everything at our disposal,” Miller said. “Everybody pulled together on this right from the start. This is truly an example of teamwork.”
Miller also praised the work of the Hollister police officers and detectives who investigated the arson.
“I wish more cases were like this,” he said. “The community should be very proud of their public safety officials.”
Even with a suspect in custody, detectives will continue to investigate the crime.
“There is still work to be done over the next few days,” Miller said.
The boy is being held at the San Benito County Juvenile Hall without bail.
San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield said the suspect could be tried on felony charges as an adult, but said he knew nothing about the case.
“We haven’t seen the case and it wouldn’t be appropriate to speculate on charging decisions at this time,” Sarsfield said Wednesday night.
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 fire began at 6:28pm in the grocery section in the northeast part of the store, Hollister Police Capt. Bob Brooks said. 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. There are no estimates on product loss, structural damage or overall costs of damage from the arson attack, according to the Hollister Fire Department.
Brett Rowland is the city editor of the Hollister Free Lance. He can be reached at 637-5566 ext. 332 or br******@fr***********.com. Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
