Suspect in series of Santa Rosa arsons arrested

CBS News

21-05-2025

Santa Rosa detectives arrested a man police describe as a transient who is accused of triggering multiple fires in the city from late March to May, according to police.
Heriberto Soliz-Olivarez, 29, was arrested around 11 a.m. Tuesday at Finley Community Park along West College Avenue, the Santa Rosa Police Department said in a statement. He is accused of setting fires to multiple inhabited structures, garage doors and residential fences between March 24 and Tuesday.
Police said that on March 24, officers learned about a reported arson at a residence in the 1100 block of Exeter Drive. A fence attached to the residence was set on fire during the overnight hours while the residents were asleep.
On April 30, around 9:25 p.m., someone used lighter fluid to burn the corner of the same residence. The fire was quickly extinguished by a neighbor, but the exterior of the home already had significant damage.
Around 9:50 p.m. on April 21, an arson was reported at a residence in the 800 block of Warren Lane, where someone sprayed lighter fluid on the wooden fence attached to the residence and lit the fence on fire. At 8:41 p.m. last Friday, the wooden door of the detached garage of the same house on Warren Lane was set on fire, leaving a burn mark.
On May 20, at approximately 3:50 a.m., the same garage door on Warren Lane was lit on fire. Security camera footage showed a person pouring what was believed to be lighter fluid onto the garage door before lighting the door on fire.
Police said the person walked out of the camera frame and returned a few minutes later after the fire went out. He reportedly poured more liquid and set the door on fire a second time. According to investigators, the fire continued to burn until 4:13 a.m. when first responders arrived.
Police said that upon reviewing one of the collected camera footage, one of their detectives recognized the suspect as Soliz-Olivarez from prior law enforcement contacts. Investigators also alleged that the suspect in the other arsons carried the same backpack as Soliz-Olivarez was in this video.
During his arrest, Soliz-Olivarez reportedly wore the same clothing and backpack that were seen on security camera footage from the latest arson he allegedly perpetrated.
Soliz-Olivarez was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony arson of an inhabited structure or property. No one was reported injured in any of the fires he allegedly caused.
According to police, the victims of the burned homes on Exeter Drive and Warren Lane do not have any connection to Soliz-Olivarez, so detectives are investigating Soliz-Olivarez's motive for targeting the victims' residences.