By rssfeeds-admin Fiery footage captures the front of Rod’s Custom Electronics and Accessories as it becomes engulfed in flames. The fire spread to the shop, then three cars, a forklift, and a trailer. The owner, Rod, said the suspect started the fire from the alley, and his shop is now a total loss.
“Why these individuals choose to do what they do? I have no idea. I wish I did,” said Fresno Fire’s Deputy Fire Marshal Jay Tracy. He tells YourCentralValley.com that Reinhart set the shop on fire on Saturday around 1 a.m. “I get information that he’s homeless, but then we were able to identify a kind of residence that he is affiliated with. I know he’s had some past run-ins with law enforcement, but I don’t know the specifics on those,” Tracy added.
He was taken into custody three days later and charged with seven counts of arson. “We’ve identified three separate fire locations, but there’s multiple counts, too. One of those that includes structures and vehicles,” Tracy said. The third location, Tracy said, was nearby.
Rod, who has had his shop for over 25 years, says around the same time his fire started, surveillance video caught the suspect shoving a cigarette and paper into a mail chute further down Van Ness Avenue.
“It pulls us away from the calls that we’re here, we’re really here to do. You know, never speak for anybody, but I know my chief, I know that our mayor and our city manager and the chief of police are all on board with saying, ‘Hey, this is very unacceptable behavior,’ and we will investigate these cases. And if possible, we will find you and arrest you,” he said.
Rod says they do have insurance and plan to rebuild. But for now, he and his four employees are subleasing a shop to continue their work.
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