Police: Arson Suspect Arrested after Allegedly Setting Dozens of Fires

An alleged serial arsonist is in custody Monday after authorities suspected he set 25 fires in South Pasadena and Pasadena since mid-November.

Javier Adolfo Viera, 35, of South Pas, admitted responsibility for a majority of the fires, and a search of his home resulted in the recovery of corroborating evidence, according to a press release from South Pasadena Police. On Saturday, a car was torched in 400 block on Arroyo Drive and on Sunday, surveillance was conducted on Viera who was arrested after allegedly sparking a car fire in the 6100 block of North Oak Hill in Los Angeles. 

South Pasadena detectives reported several arsons along Arroyo Drive earlier this month. You can read about those here. 

During authorities' investigation, Viera's fingerprints were found on an incendiary device that did not burn completely. Police said the arson incidents started as small vegetation fires and escalated to fires set under or involving parked vehicles, and one involving the exterior door to a business. Twenty-one of the arsons occurred in South Pasadena, and four of them in Pasadena, police said.

The West San Gabriel Valley Anti-Crime Task Force assisted South Pasadena and Pasadena fire investigators on this case. 

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