A man has been arrested in the South Bay accused of setting fire to a CVS in Gilroy and on Monday, police said they’re still hunting for more suspects in a series of other recent arsons.
Chase Harlow, 26, was booked into jail over the weekend and is being held without bail, on charges related to the fire, and for a robbery earlier in the week.
But police say they’re still looking for at least one suspect in several other fires set last week around Gilroy. The total number of arsons is now at 10.
“The fire department did come right away, but we just don’t know what started the fire,” said Susan Jacobsen of Gilroy.
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The fence and shed at Jacobsen’s longtime family home were ripped apart by flames the afternoon of July 4.
It didn’t appear to be fireworks related.
The city fire department does not have arson investigators, so police are leading the investigation.
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For now, officers say the fence fire is another case that looks like arson.
“He's in the process today of replacing the two fences and he’ll eventually have to [replace] his shed,” said Jacobsen, whose son lives in the home. “All in all, he’s lucky but it’s still a creepy feeling. He’s not sleeping well at night because he temporarily had the orange fencing up and you just don’t know in this day and age.”
Gilroy police put out pictures of a person they now consider a suspect in several other fires. Officers say multiple dumpsters were set on fire around the city and they think more people were involved and are trying to identify them through surveillance cameras.
One of the incidents involves a fire at the Lily Gardens Apartments on July 6. A nearby family saw it and extinguished it before it could spread.
“Luckily we got there in time because that would have gone up,” said Mary Avila of Gilroy.
Police ask anyone who recognizes the man in the pictures ask to call them.
