Police seek public help identifying Vista arson suspect

VISTA (KUSI) — Police and sheriff’s investigators are seeking the public’s help to catch an arsonist suspected of starting a fire that scorched a vehicle, trailer and two jet skis outside a home in Vista.

The blaze was reported about 1:15 a.m. Aug. 4 in the 1900 block of Cherrywood Street, said Detective Arnold Van Lingen of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames, but not before the fire destroyed a Toyota Sequoia SUV, two jet skis, a trailer and the surrounding vegetation, Van Lingen said. A person driving a dark sedan was seen leaving the area just before the arson was reported.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the sheriff’s department’s bomb arson unit at (619) 550-8158 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can also contact the agency online at sdcrimestoppers.org and may remain anonymous. Anyone with information that leads to an arrest in the case could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.