East County News Service
June 26, 2015 (Santee)—Francisco “Frankie” Castro, 23, is under arrest for an arson fire at the “House of Hope,” a Santee shelter located at Prospect and Cottonwood avenues. The fire occurred on October 2, 2014.Castro was taken into custody by the Fugitive Task Force Thursday. He had been an "on and off" guest of one of the tenants.
The arrest follows nearly nine months of investigation by the Sheriff’s Bomb Arson Department. The residence at 10320 once housed upwards of 50 people and had been the subject of investigations by the Santee Sheriff’s Station, Santee code enforcement, and the District Attorney’s office for violations that included misuse of government EBT (food stamp) cards, allegations of sexual assault, and living standard violations.
A KNSD Channel 7 news investigation before the building was torched found conditions described as crowded and deplorable. The TV news investigation also revealed that residents said they were trading their taxpayer-funded food stamps for shelter provided by an outreach ministry through Pastor David Barrett.
At the time of the fire, most occupants had been notified that “House of Hope” was shutting its doors and they had already moved out, though several remained despite a court-ordered eviction notice that would have resulted in a lock-out the day after the fire occurred.
Detective John Debus said Castro was found to have intentionally started a fire inside the residence which caused significant damage. He is being held at San Diego Central Jail with bail set at $200,000.
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According to my latest letter from Father Joes' Villages --