A man suspected in a series of arson fires in downtown Los Angeles since July was charged Monday with three counts of arson.
Victor Marias, 31, was charged with two counts of arson of a structure and one count of arson of property, but criminal proceedings against him were suspended after a defense attorney declared a doubt about his client’s mental competency, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The case will be sent to Hollywood mental health court, with an Oct. 21 date set, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Marias was arrested last Thursday and has remained behind bars since then without bail, according to jail records.
The most recent fire Marias allegedly set occurred last Thursday on Willow Street, where another fire had occurred in September, authorities said.
“In both cases, nearby residents provided surveillance footage showing the actions of collecting combustibles and setting them on fire,” fire officials said.
Marias is also charged in connection with a July 19 blaze in which firefighters responded to Kohler Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, where an outdoor fire extended to several commercial buildings, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
It took fire crews more than five hours to extinguish the flames in that blaze, and one firefighter was injured.
LAFD arson investigators responded to the scene and obtained “security surveillance footage of the fire being set,” fire officials said in a statement.
Investigators said the suspect was subsequently identified as Marias, whom fire officials said was on active probation for a fire that damaged a building one block away from the Kohler Fire on Palmetto Street in August 2023.