The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Serial arsonist hits Sunnyvale for a fifth time

Police say suspect responsible for 14 arson-burglaries in total

By Justin Berton

Judy Starr came home from Pak 'n Save with her husband Irwin just after 4 p.m. on July 13 and began to prepare a meatloaf dinner when she heard a loud boom from the apartment below.

"I thought it was the guys coming home and slamming the door," Starr said of the two men who live beneath her in the Lincoln Green apartment complex on S. Fair Oaks Avenue.

Instead, the sound Starr and her husband heard was the powerful force of windows being blown out from a fire that was gutting the two-bedroom apartment directly below her.

Police believe the fire was intentionally set by the same person who is responsible for 14 arson-burglaries in the South Bay, five of which have taken place within Sunnyvale city limits.

"Obviously, this person travels through Sunnyvale and is familiar with the area," Sunnyvale Fire Marshall Byron Pipkin said.

A fire and burglary that investigators believe were perpetrated by the same person took place just one block away at the Fair Oaks West apartment complex on April 16. That fire caused more than

$130,000 in damage and stolen property.

Monday's fire in central Sunnyvale was the first since May 27, the longest stretch of silence in the 10 months police believe the suspect has been at work. After the last blaze, the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department launched a media campaign to ask for the public's help in apprehending the suspect. Since then, the suspect, who is known for breaking into apartments on weekdays during the afternoon hours, had not struck. The stretch of calm led investigators to wonder if the suspect had reached the end of his path of destruction.

"It had been six weeks since the last fire, and we didn't know if this person was still working," Pipkin said.

Now, investigators from the eight Bay Area cities that have created a special task force to catch the suspect are rejuvenated with fresh leads.

Monday's fire, which took place just 25 feet from busy S. Fair Oaks Avenue, lead to several tips, Pipkin said.

"We are in the process of following those up right now," he added.

To date, the burglar-arsonist is responsible for close to $300,000 worth of fire damage and stolen property. Officials are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and capture of the suspect.

Luckily, Pipkin added, no one has been hurt in any of the blazes attributed to the burglar-arsonist.

Pipkin said investigators have also sketched out a psychological profile of the suspect but would not divulge any details of the profile.

The fingerprints of Monday's fire bore the unmistakable signs of the suspect, Pipkin said. The specifics of which, he said, "We're keeping to ourselves."

Two days after the fire, while investigators combed the ivy bushes surrounding the residence searching for clues, Starr's upstairs apartment still reeked of burnt ashes layered with Lysol spray.

Starr recalled when someone screamed, "Fire," she ran down the stairs wearing her cooking apron and carrying the cutting knife she was using to chop onions for her meatloaf just moments earlier.

Starr said knowing the serial burglar-arsonist was still at large did make her feel a little uneasy, but ultimately, she's not fearing he will return.

"Maybe he won't strike twice at the same place," Starr said.

For Pipkin and the other investigators working on the case, the mounting leads are breathing a new life into the investigation.

"I feel like we're one witness away from breaking this case," Pipkin said. "We just need that one witness."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 22, 1998.
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