Coachella Valley - Arson Arrest
Last updated 4/6/2016 at 4:29am
Coachella Valley resident Luis Josue Perales, 22, has been charged with setting fire to three occupied buildings, two unoccupied buildings, six vehicles and 14 other miscellaneous pieces of property, including palm trees and dumpsters.
Perales pleaded not guilty Tuesday March 5, to the charges relating to fires allegedly set between Jan. 15, 2015, and the end of March 2016. If convicted on all counts, he faces the possibility of more than 60 years in prison due to further sentence-enhancing allegations of causing fires that burned multiple structures, using a device to accelerate the spread of the fires, and committing arson in areas where the state's emergency Drought regulations are under effect.
