A criminal suspect set a series of fires in North Los Angeles just hours after being released due to the ‘Zero Bail’ policy.
On October 26, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reported the arrest of Jacqueline Whatley, 36, in connection to a series of recent arsons in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of North Los Angeles.
A fire was reported at a one-story flower shop on Ventura Boulevard around 11 p.m. on October 16. Less than three hours later, another fire broke out at a nearby one-story home around 2 a.m., according to the police.
On the same day, additional fires were reported involving cars, homeless tents, vegetation, garbage, and debris. The police treated these fires as “suspicious,” initiating an investigation that ultimately led to Whatley’s arrest.
Police records indicate that Whatley had been arrested the previous weekend for driving her car into a coffee shop and a sushi restaurant. Initially arrested for property damage, she was released shortly afterward due to the ‘Zero Bail’ policy.
Whatley is accused of intentionally setting fire to businesses, homes, and tents inhabited by the homeless, merely hours after her release on October 14. In light of these allegations, she has been charged with attempted murder and is currently being held on a $1 million bail.
BY SUAH JANG [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
