Man charged with setting Tustin apartment complex on fire
A 59-year-old man suspected of starting a 5-alarm fire that tore through a Tustin apartment complex this week has been charged with arson, according to a criminal complaint, which also revealed that he had a previous conviction for attempted murder in San Bernardino County.
The blaze left at least 62 people displaced from Chatham Village Apartments, on Williams Street and killed a dog.
The pre-dawn fire sent residents running out of the building Wednesday morning. It took 120 firefighters hours to put out the flames.
That evening, Patrick Andrew Ceniceros, 59, walked into the Tustin Police Department station voluntarily, the department said. After talking to investigators from the police department and Orange County Fire Authority, Ceniceros was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire.
Tustin police said Ceniceros was a resident of the complex and lived in the unit where the blaze broke out.
On Friday he was charged with single felony counts each of aggravated arson with damage over $8.3 million, arson of inhabited property, arson of property and animal abuse by a caretaker for the death of the dog, according to court records.
The arson of property charge stems from Ceniceros allegedly setting fire to a 2001 Ford Mustang. It is unclear if the car also was at the Tustin apartment complex.
The criminal complaint alleges that Ceniceros used “a device designed to accelerate the fire and delay ignition.”
The criminal complaint filed Friday also shows Ceniceros was convicted in October 2009 of attempted murder in San Bernardino County. Court records detailing that incident were not accessible Friday.
Ceniceros was still recuperating at a hospital on Friday afternoon, with a video conference call allowing him to appear remotely before Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger. The screen was not visible to the audience in Judge Menninger’s courtroom in Santa Ana.
Ceniceros’ did not enter a plea. His bail was set at $1 million, and his next hearing set for Feb. 27.
If convicted, Ceniceros faces up to 30 years to life in prison.
Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for why Ceniceros allegedly started the blaze.
City News Service contributed to this report.