Trial Ordered For Business Owner Accused Of Setting Food Truck On Fire

SAN DIEGO, CA — A business owner suspected of setting his food truck on fire in Kearny Mesa was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges that include arson and insurance fraud.

Avonte Hartsfield, 26, is accused in the Oct. 3, 2021, blaze that destroyed his food truck, which prosecutors contend was an intentional fire he set to collect insurance money.

A GoFundMe campaign in which he alleged he was a target of hate crimes also raised more than $102,000 and he also received a $20,000 donation from the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation shortly after the fire.

During a preliminary hearing held Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court, San Diego Police Department detectives testified that their investigation into the fire yielded surveillance footage from a business near Hartsfield's office, where his food truck was parked the night it went up in flames.

The food truck is not visible in the footage, but a man police allege was Hartsfield is seen walking in the direction of the truck. About two minutes later, the same man walks back the way he came and flickering lights can be seen from the area where the truck was parked.

Detectives also testified that a car resembling Hartsfield's personal vehicle can be seen arriving at the scene and leaving soon after the time of the fire.

Hartsfield told police that in the days leading up to the fire, his truck and office had been broken into multiple times and some of his equipment had been vandalized. He also said he found a makeshift noose hanging in his office.

The preliminary hearing also touched upon an incident that occurred about a week after the fire at a downtown San Diego location Hartsfield had planned to open, in which a person allegedly threw a brick bearing a racial slur through the window. No suspects were identified or arrested in that case, according to testimony.

Hartsfield told police he had parked the truck outside his office on the night of the fire, went home, then found the truck burned down the following day.

A phone call between Hartsfield and SDPD detective John Clayton of the department's Metro Arson Strike Team was played during the hearing, in which Clayton states surveillance footage placed Hartsfield at the scene around the time of the fire.

Hartsfield explained that he had gone back to the office to check on things due to the recent break-ins.

Hartsfield later told Clayton that while there, a man armed with a gun threatened him, prompting him to run and head home.

After Clayton told him that he didn't believe the gunman story, Hartsfield said the fire was actually started by a rice cooker he left on in the truck. When the rice cooker sparked the fire, Hartsfield said he panicked and ran.

Clayton testified that a fire investigator later determined the fire could not have been started by the rice cooker as described.

Hartsfield's GoFundMe page, which was titled "Rebuilding After a Series of Hate Crimes," received funds from more than 2,200 donors, SDPD Crime Analyst Bailey Fice testified. Donors sent in amounts ranging from $5 to $7,600, she said.

District Attorney's Office Investigator Christopher Bayless testified that GoFundMe ended up refunding about $25,000 out of the total funds raised.

A State Farm insurance agent testified that State Farm paid out more than $250,000 in connection with an insurance claim Hartsfield made.

While Hartsfield's initial post on the GoFundMe page referred to the fire as arson, he provided an update in March of 2022 that indicated the fire was determined to be caused by an "electrical mishap."

"Knowing the fire was not decided as arson could influence your donation and I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to request a refund," the update read. He was charged by prosecutors later that year.

Hartsfield, who is representing himself in the criminal case, remains out of custody and is due back in court next month.

— City News Service