Felony charges were filed Thursday against a 31-year-old man charged with torching two cars, a house and two mail boxes in Laguna Niguel.
Kia Kaeni is facing four counts of arson of property and single counts of arson of a structure, possession of flammable material and use of a destructive device with the intent to injury, along with sentencing enhancement allegation of arson with the use of an acceleration device.
Kaeni pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana, and he was ordered to return to court July 17 for a pretrial hearing in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Kaeni is accused of torching a 2018 Cadillac Escalade and a 2019 BMW as well as two mail boxes and setting fire to a residence at 23772 Brant Lane, according to the criminal complaint.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies responded to the blaze about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at that address, said Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. When the deputies arrived, a vehicle parked in a driveway was “fully engulfed in flames,” Braun said.
Authorities did not offer a motive for the crimes, nor reveal why the Brant Lane residence was targeted.
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