Firefighters on the scene of the blaze in which Jose Luis Martinez, 34, is charged with setting. Photo via OnScene.TV.
A Santa Ana man who allegedly set his family’s house ablaze after going on a tirade over a recent divorce was charged Monday with two felonies.
Jose Luis Martinez Jr., 34, pleaded not guilty to arson of an inhabited property and unlawfully causing fire to an inhabited structure and is due back in court on March 13 for a pretrial hearing. He could face up to nine years in prison if convicted.
Police were called about 6:30 p.m. last Thursday regarding a family dispute in the 1000 block of West Washington Avenue.
Martinez was encouraged to come out of the house peacefully, but about an hour later, he allegedly set fire to his room in the two-story house, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Nichols.
Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority said the intense blaze forced firefighters into a defensive posture, in which they battled the flames from outside the structure, which also damaged a neighboring home. No injuries were reported.
Prior to the fire, the defendant and another occupant of the home got into a dispute related to a recent divorce, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. When officers arrived, the defendant was inside “breaking stuff,” he said.
Martinez went to the back of the home and, while officers were devising a plan to deal with him, he allegedly set the home ablaze and came running outside, where he was taken into custody, Bertagna said.
–City News Service
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