A little over three years ago, I dug into the demolition of 570 North Normandie Avenue, which burned after just two months of being left empty and improperly secured (case in point: in the photo above, you can clearly see the wide-open gate with a posted demolition notice).
You should look into 570 N Normandie - the developer who bought it left it open intentionally, resulting in a crazy squatting situation. The 1920’s house was full of stuff from the previous tenants and there were people in and out 24/7 taking everything. The developer refused to secure the property.
It burned down shortly after - I talked to the mail man who called in the fire and he said he saw people pull up and light it on fire.
His description of those people matched two guys I had met days before who showed up and ran German shepherds through the building to clear it of squatters.
So, I sent a CPRA request to LAFD.
I’m screenshotting the report below. In case anyone can’t view the image, it lists the cause of ignition as “Undetermined after investigation” and the hear source as “other”.
Listing the cause as “undetermined” seemed rather odd, given that the postal worker who called in the fire claimed to have seen it being set.
I requested audio and a transcript of the 911 call, hoping to confirm that the witness had indeed reported the suspected arsonists, knowing the records might be unavailable. Many law enforcement agencies don’t keep recordings of 911 calls for very long.
Speaking of law enforcement, did you know that they can opt out of providing records?
Now, I can understand why they might do that. I haven’t forgotten that San Francisco’s then-Mayor, Dianne Feinstein, foolishly revealed key evidence in the Night Stalker case to the public, which severely hampered the investigation and probably lengthened Richard Ramirez’s horrific crime spree.
Anyway, the LAPD invoked law enforcement privilege, so I can’t confirm the content of the 911 call.
I sent a follow-up email to LAFD, mentioning the 911 call and asking if it was ever investigated as arson. This is the response I received:
Hello,
If you have any evidence that arson was committed, please email us and we will forward it to the arson department for further investigation.
Best regards,
LAFD
And before anyone suggests that the city might still be looking into the fire…California has a statute of limitations on arson and most other felonies. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.)
It’s three years.
That’s right - the statute of limitations for ARSON, which is a very dangerous and highly destructive FELONY, is typically only three years.
Since the clock ran out in July, I’m not so sure that anyone would be convicted of anything if evidence turned up now. But if anyone out there does have evidence, please reach out to LAFD just in case.
Just to be accurate, The Night 🌙 Stalker was in L.A. Feinstein may have been referring to the Zodiac Killer. I'm not sure. 👍