Suspected Serial Arsonist Arrested Following Fires Set At East Palo Alto RV Parking Lot

EAST PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- Police have arrested a suspected serial arsonist believed to have set a number of fires along a path in East Palo Alto bordering parked RVs.

East Palo Alto police said Friday the fires were set on during the early morning hours of April 10 along a bicycle path adjacent to the RV Safe Parking lot at 1798 Bay Road. The lot was established by the city as a safe area for people who are living in their vehicles and trying to regain their financial independence.

A 26-year-old transient identified as Sender Abraham Ramirez Gonzalez is believed to have set four separate fires along the fence bordering the RV lot where people were sleeping in their vehicles, police said.

Firefighters with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District quickly extinguished the fire but not before one RV was burned along with portions of the fence. There was no word of any injuries.

Investigators determined Ramirez Gonzalez as the suspect, who is also linked to four other arson incidents since last year.

On April 13, a bike patrol officer spotted Ramirez Gonzalez on the same bike path where he was accused of starting the RV lot fires, police said. He was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail.