A woman suspected of starting a fire in a drainage pipe at a downtown Oceanside movie theater last week has been arrested, police said Wednesday.
The 41-year-old was taken into custody Tuesday on suspicion of arson of an inhabited structure, Assistant Police Chief John McKean said in a news release. Jail records indicate the woman remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $150,000 bail.
The fire at the Regal Oceanside on Mission Avenue was reported about 10:20 p.m. on Jan. 29, Oceanside fire officials said last week. Theater employees — there were no patrons inside at the time — cleared out of the building.
Crews arrived to find fire in a plastic drainage pipe on the building’s exterior and smoke billowing from the roof. The fire had worked its way into the building and reached an interior storeroom, fire officials said. McKean said it caused about $10,000 in damage.
Fire and police investigators determined the fire had been intentionally set, McKean said, and surveillance video led investigators to identify the woman as the suspect. McKean said she was arrested and confessed.
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