Breitbart reported, “The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) issued a detainer request on the Sonoma County Jail for Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, who was arrested Sunday on suspicion of arson in Wine Country fires that have killed at least 40 residents.”
Apparently responding to those stories, the Sacramento Bee quoted the sheriff as saying:
“There is a story out there that he’s the arsonist in these fires. That’s not the case. There’s no indication he’s related to these fires at all. ... I wanted to kill that speculation right now, so we didn’t have things running too far out of control.”
Three Sonoma County probation officers patrolling Maxwell Farms Regional Park just before 3 p.m. Sunday noticed a plume of smoke rising from an area near the Sonoma Creek, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Misti Harris said.
Gonzalez walked away from the fire as the officers approached, Harris said.
“Nobody else was in the area,” Harris said.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department deputies followed Gonzalez to a nearby McDonald’s. Gonzalez had “previous contacts” with law enforcement, she said.
Gonzalez told police he started the fire because he was cold, Harris said. Officers found a lighter in his pocket.
Some homeless people who knew Gonzalez said that he had a habit of setting fire to brush along the creek bed.