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By Miriam Raftery
Photo, left by Jake Rose: Chase Bank in flames
October 21, 2021 (La Mesa) – Ricky Bernard Cooper, 34, has pleaded guilty to setting an arson fire that burned down Chase Bank in downtown La Mesa during a riot on May 30, 2020. Cooper also pleaded guilty to a burglary count for looting at the La Mesa Springs Shopping Center. His sentencing is slated for next month.
A second suspect and codefendant Alexander King of San Diego, 20, faces the same charges and is due in court in December. Investigators from the La Mesa Police Department, San Diego Police Department and the San Diego Field Office of the FBI worked jointly to solve these crimes.
Photo, right by Paul Kruze: police in riot gear, shortly before dispersing tear gas at the La Mesa Springs shopping center, where numerous businesses were looted and vandalized on May 30, 2020
Violence broke out following a racial justice protest earlier on May 30th that was part of national protests over the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minnesota police officer since found guilty of murder.
Local protesters also targeted La Mesa after a viral video of La Mesa Police Officer Matt Dages in a controversial arrest of Amaurie Johnson, a young black man. Dages was later fired and charged with falsifying a police report and the charges against Johnson were dropped.
Chase Bank has indicated it plans to rebuild.
Two other buildings, Union Bank and the historic Randall Lamb building, were also destroyed by arson fires the same night.
Daniel Louis Sandoval of Campo was charged with arson at the Randall Lamb building. He has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. The Randall Lamb lot remains vacant.
No one has yet been charged with burning down Union Bank, which recently broke ground to rebuild its downtown location on Spring Street.
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