A Granada Hills man accused of being a “serial arsonist” faces felony charges in connection with fires at a Canoga Park gentleman’s club and an electrical vault in the Los Angeles Fashion District.
Cyrus Farsaad, 47, is charged with arson and two counts of arson of structure, all felonies, in the series of fires beginning in early March, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said. He faces up to 14 years and four months in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors said Farsaad is responsible for starting a March 2 fire in the electrical vault in a Fashion District warehouse, and he returned six days later to do so again. The fire caused minor damage after spreading to the warehouse, but no one was injured.
Farsaad set fire to the gentleman’s club March 5, causing charring, heat and smoke damage, prosecutors said. The club was closed, and no one was injured.
Farsaad pleaded not guilty on Thursday, and bail was set at $200,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 7.
“Serial arsonists pose a grave threat to our communities. They threaten property, livelihoods and put lives at risk,” L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a news release. “This conduct will not be tolerated.”
The L.A. fire and police departments are continuing to investigate the case.
“Serial arson is not a property crime. It is a direct threat to civilian lives and to every firefighter we send in to stop it,” Thomas Raymond, chief of the L.A. Fire Department’s Arson Counter-Terrorism Section, said in a statement.
