3 Teens Arrested In String Of Arsons, Including Blaze At Beloved Long Beach Restaurant
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Three 14-year-old boys have been arrested on arson charges in connection with a spree of fires in Long Beach last week, including one devastating blaze that caused significant damage to a popular local restaurant.
Two of the suspects were arrested Saturday and the third was taken into custody on Tuesday following an investigation by the Long Beach Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The boys, who were not named, have been charged in five fires that broke out between June 12 and June 16, LBFD said. Of those, three were trash fires, a fourth damaged a fence and palm tree, and a fifth destroyed Dogz Bar and Grill.
The teens are also being investigating for a sixth fire which damaged an exterior classroom at Naples Elementary School on June 16, although charges have not been filed against them in that case yet.
In the early morning hours of June 12, a three-alarm blaze caused $160,000 in damage to Dogz Bar and Grill, part of a strip mall located in the 5300 block of East 2nd Street. One firefighter suffered second-degree burns to both his hands battling the fire, LBFD reports.
That fire occurred just two weeks before Dogz was scheduled to reopen. In January of 2017, a delivery truck sheared a fire hydrant and sent water flooding into Dogz. The restaurant, which specializes in gourmet hot dogs and is dog-friendly, was destroyed. The family which owns Dogz had spent the past 18 months rebuilding it.
All three suspects have been booked into Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. Anyone with information should call Long Beach arson investigators at 562-570-2582.