Fairfield Police Arrest Suspected Serial Arsonist
FAIRFIELD (CBS SF) -- A Fairfield man has been arrested following a series of fire bombings including one in front of the Police Department lobby, authorities said Friday.
According to police, Matthew Scott Young allegedly went on an overnight arson spree tossing a firebomb though an apartment window, setting a car ablaze and capping it off by trying to torch the lobby of the Fairfield police department.
No one was injured in the fires. There was no immediate estimate to the amount of damages the arson fires caused.
The arson spree began around 10:00 p.m. Thursday. Two victims were inside their apartment in the 2900 Block of North Texas Street when the suspect allegedly threw an incendiary device through their window. Police and fire units responded and extinguished the fire.
An hour later, officers responded to a car fire on Thames Court and realized similarities between that incident and the North Texas Street fire.
Then at 1:00 a.m. Friday officers were alerted to a fire and explosion in front of the Police Department lobby. They responded and quickly saw evidence that the fire was possibly related to the other two.
Officers armed with witness descriptions of the suspect in the other two cases and video of the suspect committing the act in front of the Police Department searched for the suspect.
At 1:40 a.m., officers located Young driving his car in the 2900 Block of North Texas Street, near the original crime. He was arrested without incident.
During the investigation officers learned Jones is a neighbor of the two victims. Over the past month he had used racial epithets toward them and had been acting erratically.
Jones was booked into Solano County Jail for attempted murder, committing a hate crime, two counts of possessing a destructive device, possessing a destructive device with the intent to injure people, exploding a destructive device with the intent to commit murder, and two counts of arson.
There are no other outstanding suspects in this case.
We are asking anyone with information about this crime to contact the Fairfield Police Department's Investigations Bureau at 707-428-7600. You can also call our Tip Line at 707-428-7345, Solano CrimeStoppers at 707-644-7867, or Text "TIP FAIRFIELDPD" followed by your message to 888777.
