Felony arson arrest made following fire at Pleasant Hill apartment

PLEASANT HILL — A Pleasant Hill resident is suspected of setting a fire at his apartment Monday that spread and and damaged two others, police said.

Police arrested the 58-year-old man on suspicion of felony arson after the blaze in the 1400 block of Contra Costa Boulevard, Pleasant Hill police Corp. Allan Roan said in a statement. One officer shot the suspect with a non-lethal bean bag during the incident, Roan said.

Fire crews extinguished the blaze.

The suspect was the only person who came away injured in the blaze, Roan said. Those injuries were caused by self-inflicted knife wounds that were not life-threatening, he said. The suspect was hospitalized and will be booked into the Martinez Detention Facility upon his release, Roan said.

Police and fire crews responded about 9 p.m. to a report of an explosion and smoke at a first-floor apartment and arrived to find the unit engulfed in flames.

Several people called Pleasant Hill police to report seeing a man limping away from the apartment complex with two large kitchen knives, Roan said. Police located him shortly after arriving.

The suspect refused officers’ commands and began to cut himself with the knives, Roan said. That’s when the officer used the bean bag to detain the suspect, he said.

Police did not identify the officer who fired the bean bag.

Roan said arson investigators with the Contra Costa Fire Protection District located evidence at the apartment that indicated the suspect intentionally set the fire. Police later confirmed the suspect was the only resident of the unit that burned.

The two other apartments were damaged by fire and smoke.

Police continue to investigate and encouraged anyone with information to contact them at 925-288-4630.