SAN FRANCISCO—On December 17, the San Francisco Police Department announced that an arson suspect has been arrested. The SFPD reported on December 5, at approximately 1:55 p.m., officers responded to a religious organization located on the unit block of Banbury Drive for a report of a fire.
Officers arrived on scene and spotted San Francisco Fire Department personnel extinguishing a fire that had damaged the occupied building, but no injuries were reported. The fire was set outside the building, which caused damage to the structure. The preliminary investigation discovered evidence to believe that the fire was suspicious in nature and may have been intentionally started.
The SFPD Arson Task Force is leading the investigation. Through the course of the investigation, investigators identified and located the suspect, who was in custody in San Francisco County Jail for an unrelated matter. Investigators developed probable cause to arrest the suspect, identified as Mitchell Hoyt, 36, from San Francisco.
On December 16, Hoyt was booked for causing a fire to an inhabited structure (452(b) PC) and setting property on fire (452(d) PC). There is no probable cause at the current time to arrest Hoyt for a hate crime.
The case is still under investigation. Anyone with details is asked to contact the SFPD at 1-415-575-4444 or Text-A-Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
