California

Witness: Los Angeles arson suspect mad about police killings

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Dawud Abdulawali is ordered to stand trial on arson charges during a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Abdulawali, 57, is accused of starting the Dec. 7, 2014, fire that gutted the seven-story Da Vinci complex, blew out windows at adjacent downtown office towers and caused an estimated $100 million in damage. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (The Associated Press)

Dawud Abdulwali, right, leaves Los Angeles Superior Court after a preliminary hearing in his arson case in Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Abdulawali, 57, is accused of starting the Dec. 7, 2014, fire that gutted the seven-story Da Vinci complex, blew out windows at adjacent downtown office towers and caused $100 million in damage. He is due back in court for arraignment later this month. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (The Associated Press)

Dawud Abdulwali sits in court during a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Abdulwali is accused of starting a 2014 fire that gutted a seven-story complex and damaged adjacent downtown office towers. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (The Associated Press)

A witness has testified that the man charged with sparking an inferno that destroyed an unfinished Los Angeles apartment building bragged about the blaze at a party and was angry about high-profile police killings of African-Americans.

The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/1ZFflmB ) that the testimony came Tuesday during a preliminary hearing in the arson case against Dawud Abdulwali. The 57-year-old is accused of starting a 2014 fire that gutted a seven-story complex and damaged adjacent downtown office towers.

The witness, Popaul Tshimanga, says he and Abdulwali attended a party a week later. Tshimanga says Abdulwali ranted about the August 2014 killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

The witness testified that Abdulwali also said he burned the building.

___

Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/