MAN ARRESTED FOR SETTING FIRE TO HIS RENTED HOME IN EL CAJON

By Miriam Raftery

September 7, 2024 (El Cajon) – San Diego Police have arrested Jose Orozco, 53, for arson, after a landlord-tenant dispute. After the bedroom in his El Cajon residence on Coker Way was set on fire Friday night, detectives from El Cajon Police Dept. found   plastic bottle filled with gasoline and a rag on top in his vehicle. 

Orozco was later found by San Diego Police Department and arrested. He is charged with arson and possession of a destructive device.

Friday afternoon, before the fire, El Cajon Police officers responded to a landlord-tenant dispute at the residence. Orozco, the tenant, had locked himself inside his room, stating he was going to sleep.  Other roommates said they would sleep elsewhere for the night.  At the time,  police found no crime had been committed.

No one was in the residence when the fire occurred, and there were no injuries.

Orozco has “extensive criminal history including arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, DUI, auto theft, and drug offenses,” according to Lieutenant Eric Thornton.

Anyone with additional information about these crimes should contact the El Cajon Police Department at 619-579-3311 or Crime Stoppers at www.sdcrimestoppers.org.