Man arrested in Portland after using Molotov cocktail to start brush fire, gets released and immediately re-offends

[Valin]

The Post Millennial

Joe Vaughan

September 14, 2020

A man is facing charges of reckless burning and second-degree disorderly conduct after Portland police say he used a Molotov cocktail to start a massive brush fire along Interstate 205.

A man is facing charges of reckless burning and second-degree disorderly conduct after Portland police say he used a Molotov cocktail to start a massive brush fire along Interstate 205, KATU reports.

First responders arrived to the scene in the 9600 block of East Burnside after 4:30pm on Sunday. Firefighters quickly extinguished a section of grass that was ablaze along the freeway.

An hour after the call, a witness phoned the police department to point out the suspect. According to the witness the man was living in a nearby tent. Domingo Lopez Jr confessed he caused the fire after creating a Molotov cocktail out of a plastic bottle and a wick. Police said they recovered what was left of the bottle and have marked it as evidence.

Lopez was booked in the Multnomah County Detention Center then arrested.

In a strange reoccurrence, Lopez was arrested again on Monday for starting six more small fires along the highway at around 3:30am and rebooked. They found Lopez walking along the side of the highway with a lighter. Half of the fires were put out by the fire department and the other half by members of the community.

(Snip)