VAN NUYS : Suspect in Fire at Agency to Face Trial
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A Van Nuys man was ordered to stand trial Tuesday on charges of throwing at least two Molotov cocktails into the insurance agency where his estranged wife worked.
James Michael Salazar, a 27-year-old musician, is charged with one count of arson in the Oct. 22 fire at the H&H; Insurance Co. in the 6700 block of Kester Avenue in Van Nuys.
Van Nuys Municipal Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis ordered the trial after a brief preliminary hearing and told Salazar to appear in Superior Court for an arraignment Dec. 14.
Salazar had separated from his wife and told police that he torched her workplace because “he thought that if she lost her job she’d come back to him,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Gloria Maria Mas.
Police linked Salazar to the fire after they found a keychain at the scene and Salazar’s estranged wife identified the keys as his, Mas said.
Salazar is being held in County Jail in lieu of $40,000 bail.
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