Suspect arrested in string of Santa Rosa, Graton trailside fires

A suspected serial arsonist linked by authorities to at least 17 small brush fires last month along well-used pedestrian and bike paths in Santa Rosa and Graton has been arrested and was in custody Tuesday, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Domingo Bautista-Bautista, 51, was arrested Monday on suspicion of two counts of felony arson, the Sheriff’s Office said. Bail was set at $201,000.

Investigators suspect Bautista, described as a homeless man, rode the trails on his bicycle and used a lighter to set four fires in Graton on June 14 and 13 fires in Santa Rosa late on June 16, Santa Rosa police Sgt. Marcus Sprague said Tuesday.

“We believe Mr. Bautista was responsible for both events,” Sprague said.

None of the fires caused serious damage. The largest grew to about a quarter-acre and some residential fencing was blackened in at least one fire.

But the suspicious blazes came with the arrival of hotter, drier weather as fire season ramped up in the region, leaving residents in those areas tense.

During the Santa Rosa fires, some neighbors knocked on doors and used buckets to put out flames. One man awoke to find embers flying into his yard and used a hose to keep the fire at bay before firefighters arrived.

The June 14 spot fires were set along the Joe Rodota Trail in Graton near Occidental Road.

Two days later, at about midnight, 13 small fires broke out in Santa Rosa. Some were along the Santa Rosa Creek Trail near Dutton Avenue, and some were about one mile away near railroad tracks between Hearn and Barham avenues, authorities said.

Officers responding to the Santa Rosa fires stopped Bautista on a bicycle riding away from the area, Sprague said. While there was no evidence then connecting him to the fires, Bautista was wanted for violating his probation on a misdemeanor drug conviction and was arrested.

On June 18, a sheriff’s deputy investigating the Graton fires contacted police detectives about similarities in the two series of fires. Detectives worked with Santa Rosa and Graton fire officials on the investigation. In Graton, witnesses reported seeing a suspicious person near the fires and later identified Bautista in a photo lineup, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The suspect, who also used the name Juan Hernandez-Bautista, was arrested Monday at the Santa Rosa police station.

Between the time of the fires and his arrest, he got out of jail and then was picked up again for failing to report to his probation officer, Sprague said. He had been released from jail again and was trying to claim his bicycle and personal property when officers arrested him on suspicion of arson Monday morning.

A $5,000 reward was offered by the Sonoma County Alliance’s Take Back Our Community program for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the fires.

Police still are hoping to gather more information and ask anyone who saw Bautista near the fires or on the trails to come forward.

Anyone with information about the west county trail fires should call sheriff’s detectives at 707-565-2185, while those with details on the Santa Rosa fires should call police at 707-543-3575.