Witnesses to arson fires ignited in a field adjacent to Murrieta homes were asked Friday to come forward ahead of the preliminary hearing scheduled next month for the man accused of starting the blazes.
Francisco Villanueva, 35, an area transient, is charged with six counts of arson and one count of resisting arrest.
Villanueva pleaded not guilty during an arraignment earlier this week, when Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jeff Zimel scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 2 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
The defendant is being held on $250,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center.
According to Murrieta police Lt. Don Weller, on the afternoon of March 15, Villanueva allegedly walked through an open field behind homes in the area of Clearview Street and Whitewood Road, lighting multiple fires.
Property owners spotted the smoke and flames and called 911.
“Murrieta Fire & Rescue quickly extinguished the fires, and police officers established a perimeter around the large parcel of land where the subject was last seen running,” Weller said.
The agency’s unmanned aerial vehicle operator was summoned and launched a drone to scour the location with a bird’s eye view.
“The drone operator observed a subject crawling in the heavy brush in what appeared to be an attempt to conceal himself,” the lieutenant said.
He said that patrol officers were directed to the man’s location, and Villanueva was taken into custody without incident.
“Murrieta Fire & Rescue investigators confirmed that multiple fires were intentionally set,” MFR Investigator Mike Macalinao said, without disclosing the specific method in which the blazes were ignited.
Detectives believe there may be witnesses who saw Villanueva’s activities leading up to or during the fires, and they asked anyone with details to contact the investigative team at 951-461-6404.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.