A northern California homeless man arrested for allegedly burglarizing a residence is now also facing 10 counts of arson after investigators said he was linked to nearly a dozen forest fires in Sonoma County.
Jack Stanley Seprish, a 43-year-old transient man, was arrested in Monte Rio Thursday night, Cal Fire said.
He has since been charged with 10 counts of arson in addition to a burglary charge, and his bail was set at $920,000 during an arraignment hearing Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Residents reported seeing a White male, later identified as Seprish, at the scenes of two separate vegetation fires near the 9500 block of Bohemian Highway Thursday evening.
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Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, along with Monte Rio Fire Protection District and Sonoma County Fire District, responded to the first fire at approximately 6:12 p.m., and while firefighters were still at that scene, a second blaze was reported nearby, according to Cal Fire.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire scoured the area for the suspect.
Deputies with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office nabbed Seprish on suspicion of burglarizing a nearby home, but further investigation connected him to at least 10 separate brush fires, according to Cal Fire.
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No added information has been released about the other fires he is allegedly linked to.
Suspected arson can be reported to Cal Fire’s anonymous hotline at 800-468-4408.