Sheriff’s Dept. launches search for suspected arsonist responsible for garage fire
By Gina Yarbrough
El Cajon, CA–The Sheriff’s Department has initiated a search for a homeless woman accused of igniting a fire in the garage of an apartment complex where she resided with several other homeless people in unincorporated El Cajon, according to authorities.
On Friday, detectives identified 43-year-old Mavis Williams as the suspect who started the fire. Detectives returned to the location of the fire but were unable to locate Williams.
Williams is wanted for unlawfully and recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure. She stands five feet, six inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes.
The Sheriff’s Department received multiple calls about a fire at an apartment complex in the 400 block of East Bradley Avenue.
Deputies from the Lakeside Sheriff’s Substation along with firefighters from Heartland, San Miguel, and Lakeside Fire Departments responded to the scene. When they arrived, they found a row of 14 garages on the property engulfed in flames. The garages were detached from the apartment complex. It took firefighters more than an hour to put out the blaze.
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Bomb and Arson Unit were called to investigate the cause and origin of the fire.
