A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and arson in connection with a house fire in Vista last Friday, sheriff’s officials said.
Gregory Triana Villegas was booked into the Vista Detention Facility, sheriff’s Lt. Joseph Jarjura said in a news release. Villegas is being held without bail. Jail records indicate he was on post-release community supervision, an alternative to parole, when he was arrested.
Deputies responded to a report of a house fire around 8 p.m. Friday on Palmyra Drive near South Santa Fe Avenue and found several people living in the home, Jarjura said.
Deputies and firefighters began evacuations and worked to extinguish the fire and were told one of the residents was missing. Firefighters entered the residence, but because of the flames and heat they were unable to immediately locate the resident, the lieutenant said.
Once the fire was contained, firefighters went back inside the home and found a body inside a bedroom.
The identity of the victim has not been determined, Jarjura said.
With the assistance of bomb and arson detectives and a fire specialist from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, homicide detectives collected evidence that indicated the fire was intentionally set.
Villegas was detained while walking near the home when investigators determined he matched the suspect description.
A report by CBS 8 said the fire at the two-story structure went to a second alarm before it was extinguished and said six to 10 people were displaced by the blaze.
Detectives are still trying to determine the motive and circumstances of the incident, Jarjura said.
Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.
