SF Playground Arson Suspect Caught in Richmond District!
In the Richmond District this May, two separate children’s playgrounds were deliberately set on fire and burned to the ground, along with an elementary school’s storage shed. Arson was clearly suspected, and neighborhood residents were on edge.
But on Monday, San Francisco police arrested a man for arson and drug possession. Plain clothes officers were patrolling the Richmond District around 1:30 a.m. when they spotted Joseph Martinez, 29, “igniting objects while walking in a park” near La Playa and Balboa streets (Sutro Heights Park). Officers later discovered a larger fire, and the San Francisco Fire Department was called to extinguish the flames.
Martinez was booked into San Francisco County Jail for the following charge: arson (451 PC), possession of incendiary device with the intent to set fire to structure or forest land (453 (a) PC), possession of methamphetamine (11377(a) HS), possession of controlled substance (11350(a) HS), and possession of drug paraphernalia (11364 HS).
The playgrounds of Lafayette Elementary and Lincoln Park in the Outer Richmond were both burned to the ground earlier this month. Arson was the culprit, and now SFPD has a suspect in custody.
Let’s hope this is the right dirtbag and that he acted alone, so that the children of the district can sleep a little better at night.
Investigations into the suspicious fires are still ongoing, and SFPD are encouraging members of the public to contact the department with any new information regarding arson.
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