Arsonist sentenced for west Phoenix house fires

A 19-year-old has been sentenced to four years in prison for setting two Phoenix houses on fire in 2023.

Osman Perez Vazquez will also be on three years of probation following his release, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

On May 29, 2023, the Phoenix Fire Department extinguished a fire at a vacant home that was undergoing renovations in west Phoenix. A few days later, another fire was started in the same neighborhood, an MCAO release stated.

In the second home, two people were inside during the fire and were able to escape.

The fires caused $45,000 worth of damage to the homes.

Vazquez admitted to setting both houses on fire “because he believed his neighbors were following him and taking his belongings. He also claimed he had plans to torch his mother’s house, as well,” the release stated.

Vazquez pleaded guilty in May to two counts of arson of an occupied structure.

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