(KRON) -- A man accused of intentionally setting multiple fires in Morgan Hill and Gilroy was arrested on Tuesday, police departments from both agencies said. Daniel Catano, 32, admitted to setting at least 15 fires, police said.
Morgan Hill police said they first started noticing "suspicious fires in April." They recorded two in April, two in May and six in June. The most significant of these happened at Depot Street and 5th Street, where the Depot-Latala development housing project burned down, according to police.
Many of the fires happened along the Monterey Road corridor between West Edmundson/Tennant Avenue and Main Avenue. They involved vegetation, construction sites, dumpsters and a pump shed.
Another 10 fires were documented between July 3 and July 10. They happened at places including a pump house, an apartment complex and a convenience store.
On Monday morning, an employee of the Anritsu Company called the Morgan Hill Police Department to say someone was trying to get into the company's building. The caller said the person looked like someone that the Gilroy Police Department had posted on social media in connection to an arson.
The suspect was then seen breaking into cars. One victim tracked her stolen AirPods to a Walmart parking lot, where a person was found wearing the victim's stolen sunglasses, according to police.
Police tried to detain the suspect, but he escaped officers by running through backyards.
Just before 8 p.m. that same day, a vegetation fire was started in the area of Hale Avenue and Llagas Road. The suspect again escaped on foot, eventually entering a home and fighting the occupants, according to police. After a four-hour search involving three police departments and the sheriff's office, the suspect was still loose.
On Tuesday morning, the Piedmont Police Department received a call from someone who believed they saw a suspicious person. A police captain responded and arrested Catano.
Police said Catano was charged with burglary, auto burglary, theft, and possession of stolen property. He was charged with six counts of arson out of Morgan Hill and eight counts of arson out of Gilroy. The Gilroy Police Department accused Catano of setting fires at these locations:
- 9300 block Monterey Rd., Gilroy
- 200 block Loupe Ct, Gilroy
- 9300 block Monterey Rd., Gilroy
- 7400 block Railroad St., Gilroy
- Monterey Rd/Howson St., Gilroy
- 8100 block Monterey St., Gilroy
- 8500 block Monterey St., Gilroy
- 8800 block Lilly Ave., Gilroy
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/pxBz9iy
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