Arson

Firefighters on Sunday were investigating arson as the possible cause of a fire that burned nearly 50 acres of brush Saturday in Griffith Park, said Los Angles Fire Capt. Armando Hogan. The blaze was fully contained Saturday night. It forced the evacuation of the Travel Town railroad museum shortly after 2 p.m. Later, four other fires ignited nearby. More than 300 firefighters brought the flames under control by 7 p.m. -- David Pierson

A former Compton firefighter pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of arson, grand theft and embezzlement in connection with a fire that destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of communications equipment in December 2011. Marcel Melanson, 37, a one-time Compton deputy chief who worked for the department for 15 years and once starred in a reality television series , is accused of stealing radios that were stored at the fire station and selling them on the Internet, then setting a fire to cover up the theft.

Marcel Melanson was a hero in Compton. The fire battalion chief led teams that raced to help victims of car crashes and street violence. Three years ago, he got national exposure as a star of a BET reality TV program that followed Compton firefighters on emergency calls. "We're constantly battling the perception of the city," he told the Los Angeles Times when the show premiered. "It's constantly thought of as this bad place. " On Friday, he was back in the public eye, but under very different circumstances.

A former Compton deputy fire chief is scheduled to appear in court Friday to face charges that he stole radio equipment, then lighted a fire to cover up the crime. Marcel Melanson was arrested at his home Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Melanson, 37, who also starred on a reality television series, was arrested on suspicion of arson and grand theft in connection with a fire in late 2011 that destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of radio equipment.

HOUSTON -- A Texas man convicted of setting a fire that killed his two stepsons has been granted a new trial by the state's highest criminal court amid a statewide review of questionable arson convictions. Ed Graf's case is one of several arson cases under review by the Lubbock-based Innocence Project of Texas and a new state fire panel reexamining arson investigations that may have been compromised by faulty scientific conclusions. The unprecedented investigation of closed cases was recommended by the state's Forensic Science Commission.

A former Compton deputy fire chief -- who has also starred on a reality television series -- has been arrested on suspicion of arson and grand theft in connection with a fire that destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of radio equipment in late 2011. Marcel Melanson, 37, was arrested at his home Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Compton had bought the radio and communications equipment in 2010, when the city was planning to end its contract with the Sheriff's Department and reinstate the Compton Police Department.

A Caltech graduate student convicted five years ago of conspiracy and arson for vandalizing 125 SUVs has had his arson convictions overturned and his sentence vacated by a federal appeals court. William Cottrell, 29, should have been allowed to present evidence during his 2004 trial that his suffering from Asperger's syndrome prevented him from forming the specific intent to commit the arson attacks, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an amended opinion this week. Cottrell's conspiracy conviction was upheld, but the 100-month prison sentence imposed on him for all of the offenses was vacated.

HOUSTON -- A Texas judge is expected to consider Friday whether to grant a new trial for a man serving a life sentence for murdering his two stepsons by arson, or even to declare him innocent. Ed Graf, 60, was convicted in 1988 of locking his 8- and 9-year-old stepsons in a backyard storage shed in Hewitt, Texas, just outside Waco, and setting the shed afire. Graf's is among a handful of arson cases under review by the Lubbock-based Innocence Project of Texas and an expert state fire panel, an unprecedented investigation of closed cases recommended by the state's Forensic Science Commission.

Hollywood arson suspect Harry Burkhart terrorized Los Angeles residents with a four-day rampage over New Year's weekend because he was "motivated by his rage against Americans," prosecutors alleged in court papers filed Wednesday. Burkhart appeared in court briefly to be arraigned on 37 felony counts of arson that could send him to prison for life. He looked disheveled and distracted as jail authorities have him under suicide watch. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Upinder S. Kalra set bail at $2.85 million and agreed to postpone arraignment until Jan. 24 at the request of Burkhart's public defender.

A suspected arson fire that damaged a Hemet Police Department evidence building early Monday morning could be the seventh attack on the law enforcement agency this year The fire was reported at 2:23 a.m. and severely damaged the building and evidence stored inside. The facility, which is across a parking lot from Hemet's main police station, stores evidence for pending and past criminal cases, said agency spokesman Lt. Duane Wisehart. "There's some pretty significant damage to the roof and other parts of the building," he said.

Marcel Melanson was a hero in Compton. The fire battalion chief led teams that raced to help victims of car crashes and street violence. Three years ago, he got national exposure as a star of a BET reality TV program that followed Compton firefighters on emergency calls. "We're constantly battling the perception of the city," he told the Los Angeles Times when the show premiered. "It's constantly thought of as this bad place. " On Friday, he was back in the public eye, but under very different circumstances.

A former Compton deputy fire chief -- who has also starred on a reality television series -- has been arrested on suspicion of arson and grand theft in connection with a fire that destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of radio equipment in late 2011. Marcel Melanson, 37, was arrested at his home Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Compton had bought the radio and communications equipment in 2010, when the city was planning to end its contract with the Sheriff's Department and reinstate the Compton Police Department.

A malfunctioning golf cart, a faulty electrical system or even arson could have led to the fire that triggered the deadly explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, but federal and state officials said Thursday that their $1-million investigation had yet to find the cause. Fourteen people died in the April 17 blast, including 12 first responders who arrived nine minutes after the fire was reported - and just eight minutes before the explosion shook the town, devastated two schools and shattered a nursing home.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Modesto prosecutors announced they will retry a man found by a federal judge to be “actually innocent” of starting a 1997 house fire that killed a woman and her two children. A federal judge last month ordered the state to release George Souliotes, 72, who has served 16 years for a triple-murder arson, or retry him immediately. Although Modesto prosecutors said there was “ample" evidence of guilt, state prosecutors have already conceded they could not prove the Modesto house fire was deliberately set. Much of the scientific evidence used to convict the Greek immigrant has since been discredited.  In a news release Monday, Stanislaus County Dist.

SAN FRANCISCO - A prison inmate whose triple-murder arson conviction was overturned after he demonstrated "actual innocence" will be retried rather than released, prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii ordered the state last month to release George Souliotes, 72, or retry him immediately. After finding that Souliotes had proved his innocence, the judge overturned his conviction on the grounds he had been incompetently represented by his lawyer. Souliotes has spent 16 years in prison for murder in the deaths of Michelle Jones, 31, and her two children, Daniel Jr., 8, and Amanda, 3. The three died when a fire erupted in the home the family was renting from Souliotes.

Authorities said it could take days to determine the cause of a fire that killed five people in a limousine late Saturday as it crossed the San Mateo Bridge, southeast of San Francisco. "This is not something that gets rushed through," said CHP Officer James Evans.  Five passengers died in the blaze and five people including the limo's driver escaped. The coroner's office has not released the name of the deceased, pending notification of next of kin. The surviving passengers - Jasmine Desguia, 34, of San Jose; Amalia Loyola, 48, of San Leandro; Nelia Arellano, 36, of Oakland; and Mary Guardiano, 42, of Alameda - were taken to area hospitals where they were treated for moderate burns and smoke inhalation, authorities said.  The driver, Orville Brown, 46, of San Jose, was not injured in the accident.  The vehicle was traveling on the San Mateo Bridge when for unknown reasons, it caught on fire, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol.  KTVU-TV obtained a horrific picture that shows flames engulfing the rear of the limo.

A 72-year-old woman admitted paying her teenage grandson $150 to set fire to her landlord's house days after she received an eviction notice. Nola Mae Williams pleaded guilty in Stafford to arson, breaking and entering with the intent to commit arson, and criminal solicitation of a felony. Charges against the 15-year-old boy were handled in closed juvenile court. Williams was ordered jailed without bond until her Feb. 2 sentencing.

A 13-year-old El Monte boy was charged Friday with two felonies for allegedly starting the Morris fire on Aug. 25 that burned more than 2,100 acres north of Azusa, prosecutors said. The youth, whose name was withheld by prosecutors because of his age, is accused of felony arson of a forest and recklessly causing a fire to a forest or structure. Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County district attorney's office, said the boy is not in custody and is scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court in Pomona on Nov. 17. Robison said investigators are not revealing yet how the fire was ignited, but the boy was among a group of people known to be in the area at the time the fire began.

The 28,000-acre Springs fire in Ventura County was started by a small, "undetermined roadside ignition of grass/debris" and not thought to be the result of arson, authorities said Sunday. The fire started at the edge of southbound Highway 101 near Thousand Oaks, about a quarter-mile north of the truck scales on the Conejo Grade, according to Cal Fire. "The area is considered a collection point for fuels and ignition sources. Due to the topography, the fire quickly spread, fanned by strong east winds," the state fire agency said in a statement.

A special task force of fire, police and federal agencies is investigating a church fire that erupted early Friday at a Leimert Park church. The fire was reported before 2 a.m. at Bethesda Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith on Crenshaw Boulevard. Flames tore through the church windows, and plumes of black smoke climbed into the night sky. Witnesses said they could see the flames up to three miles away. Firefighters were on the scene within four minutes of the first call, said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt.