Crime & Safety

Arson Suspect Arrested in Pasadena Boarding Home Fire

An fire that claimed two lives and seriously injured a third person was intentionally set by a Pasadena man who is now in custody, police said.

Police arrested a Pasadena man accused of intentionally setting a fire Thursday that killed two people at a local boarding home and seriously injured a third.

The fire erupted at 2:42 a.m. Thursday at a boarding house at 1385 El Sereno Avenue and firefighters discovered two dead bodies in the home after extinguishing the blaze, the Pasadena Police Department said in a news release.

Investigators found evidence that the fire was caused by 49-year-old Garth Allen Robbins, a resident of the house, according to police. Robbins was arrested at a local restaurant Friday morning and booked on murder charges, police said.

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Robbins is being held without bail in Pasadena's city jail. The case has yet to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.


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