Arson suspect arrested in Santa Rosa after leading officers on chase

( KRON ) — An arson suspect was arrested on Saturday after leading officers on a foot pursuit near the Santa Rosa Creek Trail, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department. Police received multiple calls at around 7 a.m. regarding a man suspected of starting a fire on the south side of the trail “acting aggressively.”

One caller told police the man had armed himself with a metal pole or stick. Another witness told police the man had been seen with a lighter near the scene of the fire.

Santa Rosa PD and Santa Rosa Fire Department personnel were dispatched to the scene just west of the 1500 block of Apple Creek Lane. However, the man was no longer on the scene when officers arrived.

A Santa Rosa PD officer checked the area in an effort to find the man. While fire department personnel were extinguishing the fire, they spotted the suspect and notified police.

An officer arrived and contacted the suspect who police say was holding a small lighter and “repeatedly igniting the lighter’s flame” while ignoring police. The suspect then ran from the scene.

The officer gave pursuit and chased him for three minutes. As other officers rushed to the scene, the suspect tried to hide behind a bush, police said. Police quickly located him and took him into custody.

The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Antonio Martines, a transient from Santa Rosa. A fire department investigator told officers about a similar fire in the same area one day earlier.

Police are investigating whether the two fires are related. Martines was also on felony formal probation for assault with a deadly weapon. He was arrested and booked into Sonoma County jail for the following charges:

• Arson
• Obstructing or resisting a peace officer
• Violation of probation

The earlier fire on Friday, Sept. 27, burned an area approximately 100 feet long and nearly 10 feet wide. The fire on Saturday consumed “several square feet of vegetation,” police said.

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