LAFD - Arson Suspect Caught - 1-2-12

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KTLA) -- The suspect arrested in connection with more than 50 recent fires in and around the Hollywood area appears to have been battling the U.S. government over the immigration status of his mother.

He has been identified as 24-year-old Harry Burkhart, a German national and a resident of the Hollywood area.

Burkhart was booked Monday afternoon on arson charges and is being held without bail

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He has been charged with one count of arson so far, but additional charges are expected.

Burkhart is due in court in Van Nuys on Wednesday morning.

Authorities have released few details about Burkhart, citing the ongoing investigation.

At the news conference Monday evening, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said unnamed federal officials recognized the man and gave police information about him.

He said authorities' "huge concern" now is whether Burkhart acted alone.

He said investigators are still at work, and "are acting as if [Burkhart] did not act alone."

"We are confident in our investigation, but we have a long way to go," Beck said.

A joint task force of city and county fire and police department personnel is investigating the fires.

Officials from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also working on the case.

"We have our primary arsonist responsible for these, what we can nail him down on, and distinguish that between any other arsonists that may be setting fires, because you know these types of events bring out copycats," ATF Special Agent Karl Anglin told KTLA.

Burkhart was detained after Los Angeles sheriff's reserve deputy Shervin Lalezary spotted his minivan around 3 a.m. Monday driving near Sunset Blvd. and Fairfax Ave.

The van matched the description put out by investigators of a vehicle possibly linked to the fires.

Lalezary works as a real estate attorney, and receives $1 a year as a reserve sheriff's deputy. He was only on his fourth patrol.

Sunset Boulevard was closed while police searched the Burkhart's mini-van, which had British Columbia plates. He was detained as a person of interest and later arrested.

Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that detectives found materials that could have been used to set fires inside Burkhart's van.

No new fires have been reported since Burkhart's arrest, officials said.

The suspect was stopped in his van at Sunset Blvd. and Fairfax Ave. in Hollywood. I arrived a short time later and managed to get a shot of the van before LAPD locked the area down as a crime scene.

Photo by EPN-564