Oregon man, freed after using Molotov cocktail to start fire, set six more

An Oregon man was charged with using a Molotov cocktail to start a brush blaze in the wildfire-devastated state — then busted again just hours later for allegedly going back and starting six more, cops said.

Domingo Lopez Jr., 45, was first arrested Sunday afternoon after witnesses told cops he started a fire on the grassy edge of a Portland freeway with an incendiary device made out of a plastic bottle with a wick, the Portland Police Bureau said.

He admitted starting the blaze, which was extinguished without any injuries or property damage, cops said.

Lopez Jr. was booked into jail at 6:45 p.m. Sunday on charges of reckless burning and second-degree disorderly conduct — then released on his own recognizance later that night, court records show.

He was found walking along the edge of the same highway just after 3:30 a.m. Monday as cops joined fire crews to investigate reports of six more fires, Portland police said.

This time, he appeared to start the fires with a lighter, which was seized as evidence, the force said.

He was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and issued citations for six additional counts of reckless burning, the bureau said.

Luckily, all the fires “were caught early” and “no one was injured and no structures were burnt,” police said.

The alleged arson comes as Oregon is one of the worst hit by wildfires devastating the West Coast, with at least 10 dead in the Beaver State.

The suspected Molotov cocktail attack comes as officials have also denied rumors that fires have been deliberately started by militants connected to ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara last week called rumors that one of Oregon’s worst fires was being eyed as started by Antifa “100% false information.”

via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/14/oregon-man-freed-after-starting-brush-fire-set-six-more-cops/

Photo Credit: Portland Police Bureau