Authorities have arrested and charged a man in connection with a fire in downtown Los Angeles that destroyed an unfinished apartment complex late last year. The suspect, 56-year-old Dawud Abdulwali, was arrested Tuesday on an unrelated traffic charge, theLos Angeles Fire Department said, reports The Washington Post.
Abdulwali was charged Thursday with one count each of arson of a structure and aggravated arson, according toa Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office statement, which noted that Abdulwali is suspected of “causing one of the largest structure fires in Los Angeles history.”
The charging complaint alleges the blaze was started with an accelerant on the fourth floor of the seven-story building, the statement said.
Abdulwali is being held on more than $1 million bail, according to Los Angeles County inmate records. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.
The Dec. 8 fire destroyed the 1.3 million-square-foot Da Vinci residential complex and damaged a city building next to it. The fire was so big that it took more than 250 firefighters to put it out and snarled traffic on two freeways. The LAFD estimates that the fire caused $20 million to $30 million in damage to the apartment complex and another $50 million to $60 million in damage to the city property. No one was injured.
If convicted of the arson charges, Abdulwali could go to prison for the rest of his life.
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