Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a man accused of starting four brush fires along Sepulveda Pass on Easter Sunday.
Steven William Adkison, a 31-year-old transient, was tackled by a passerby who saw him, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The passerby, Richard Lazenby, held down Adkinson before officers could arrive.
Adkison now faces four felony counts of arson of a structure or forest and could be sentenced for up to eight years in state prison, the District Attorney’s Office said.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his appearance in Los Angeles County Superior Court and, officials set. He was scheduled to return to court for a hearing in his case on May.
His bail has been set at $300,000.
Lazenby said he was driving home from church service with his family when he saw the brush fires near the Getty Center. When he saw a man lighting another fire, Lazenby blocked him with his vehicle.
His wife recorded the ordeal and posted it on Instagram, noting how their children watched with pride as their father stopped the perpetrator.
