San Jose police have apparently put a stop to a terrifying string of 12 destructive fires in a five-day span that terrorized the northern California city in the heart of high-tech Silicon Valley. They arrested the man they say set all of those San Jose fires, a man with a long history as a firebug — and who is also a registered sex offender.
“We are extremely certain that we have the man responsible,” San Jose Assistant Police Chief Edgardo Garcia told reporters Thursday, quoted in The Los Angeles Times .
According to The San Jose Mercury News , a police search of Brennan’s mobile home residence uncovered “items that definitely link him” to the fires, which he set by himself acting alone, police said.
Brennan lived in the same neighborhood just east of San Jose’s downtown district that was the site of the fire spree. The fires started on January 7 and wreaked havoc on an industrial warehouse, private homes and even a Baptist church.
On Saturday, January 11, San Jose police Sergeant Jason Kidwell, while going through California’s arson registry, spotted Brennan’s name and photo and saw that he lived in the same area that was plagued by fires , according to The San Francisco Chronicle .
Officers watched the San Jose man for several nights, and though they did not see him ignite any new blazes, they felt sure enough that they had their culprit that they knocked on his door Wednesday night and took the man who allegedly caused damage “in the millions” into custody.
He surrendered to police without incident.
It turned out that Brennan had a history of arsons going back two decades. In 1999 he was convicted of setting 16 fires in the foothills of Santa Clara County, not far from San Jose. Several years prior to that case, Brennan had a misdemeanor conviction for setting fires around the Grand Canyon.
He also has convictions for sexual assault and battery, though no details or dates were available regarding those incidents.
Among Brennan’s victims were Sharon and VInce LaVigna who nearly died when their roof collapsed in the blaze and now find themselves homeless, as well as a five-alarm fire on January 9 that destroyed a warehouse and was so severe it caused schools in the area to be closed.
Brennan, who was called “forthcoming” by police after his arrest, faces life in prison due to his previous two convictions which would trigger California’s “three strikes” law if he is convicted on the disastrous string of San Jose arsons.