The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) front lobby was temporarily closed today after a man set a fire at the front doors.
Early this morning, at approximately 1:00 a.m., a man approached the front doors of the police department, placed traffic cones at the doors and lit them on fire.
A Good Samaritan, who was driving by, used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The police department’s fire alarm was triggered and alerted CMPD’s Watch Commander.
The man, 32-year-old Claudio Benjamin Vicente, from Costa Mesa, was located nearby by officers on Newport Blvd. and arrested for arson.
The investigation is ongoing. CMPD’s CSI processed the scene this morning and City Maintenance cleaned up and repaired the doors. The lobby was reopened at 11:30 a.m.
