Crime & Safety

Suspect Arrested In Peninsula Parking Garage Arson

Police used security camera footage to track down the suspect: a 21-year-old man who'd been previously arrested for another arson incident.

San Mateo police used surveillance footage from inside the parking garage to identify Carlos Cristerna as the arson suspect.
San Mateo police used surveillance footage from inside the parking garage to identify Carlos Cristerna as the arson suspect. (San Mateo Police Department)

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — Police arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of arson in connection with a deliberately set fire in a San Mateo parking garage early Tuesday.

Police and fire crews responded at 4:19 a.m. Tuesday to a fire inside a parking garage elevator on Ellsworth Avenue. Using security camera footage, police identified and tracked down the suspect, Carlos Cristerna, of San Mateo, who had been arrested in a previous arson incident in March.

Cristerna was arrested outside his home Wednesday morning, and was found to be in possession of clothing, a backpack and other evidence related to Tuesday's arson, according to the San Mateo Police Department.

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He was booked at the county jail on suspicion of two counts of arson and a probation violation.

Find out what's happening in Redwood City-Woodsidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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