UPDATE: Suspect Arrested in Connection With Arson Fires [Video]

Los Angeles police arrested a 24-year-old man early Monday who is suspected of setting 53 arson fires in and around Hollywood, West Hollywood and North Hollywood over the weekend.

The suspect, reportedly a German citizen upset that his mother was deported, allegedly set 11 fires between midnight and the time about 3 a.m. at Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jaime Moore said.

At a noon news conference Monday, Moore said the suspect, whose name was being withheld, was stopped because he looked like a man at the scene of several fires. Police released video of the suspect Sunday night.

The fires that were started early Monday fit the mode of operation in the earlier fires, Moore said. Most were set in cars that were sitting in carports—a situation that lends itself to maximizing property damage. Seven were set in North Hollywood and two each in Hollywood proper and West Hollywood, he said.

Although no one was seriously injured, someone was given oxygen after breathing some smoke and a firefighter suffered an unspecified minor injury, Moore said.

Property damage totals were in the $2 million range, Moore said.

It was unclear why it would take so long to book the suspect on suspicion of arson, but Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andy Smith, speaking at the noon news conference, said the booking had not yet been completed.

"We're going to release information on the suspect as soon as he's booked," Smith said.

Another news conference is set for 6:15 p.m. Monday at a downtown-area fire station.

The suspect was originally described by police as a white male with a fair complexion, dark hair, a receding hairline and a ponytail. Police estimated he was in his late 20s to early 30s, and between 5-feet 8-inches and 6-feet 2-inches tall. They said he walked with a distinctive gait.

Police said an arson arrest made about 1:30 a.m. Thursday was unrelated to later fires. Los Angeles police arrested Samuel Arrington, 22, of Sun Valley, near La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard for allegedly setting a fire in a garbage can outside a 7-Eleven and trying to ignite a fuel tank on a truck, police said. He is also suspected in a 1:12 a.m. Thursday trash bin fire at 1444 Poinsettia Place and a carport fire at 1434 Fuller Ave., where four vehicles and an apartment were damaged, firefighters said last week. Arrington was jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Editor's Note: This article has been changed to reflect that the suspected arsonist is 24 years old, not 55 years old.

This article was compiled with information from City News Service.

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