Northern California district attorney suspected of arson to retire

An eight-term district attorney in Northern California announced Tuesday that he will retire early, roughly two months after he was named as an arson suspect in a fire at his ex-lover’s house.

Sutter County Dist. Atty. Carl Adams will step down Nov. 15, the Washington Post reported. His legal secretary, Dee Dee Baca, said no reason was given for Adams’ retiring before the end of his eighth term.

In August, Adams was named in a search warrant affidavit as a suspect in the fire at a home of his former lover, Sarah Garibay, who once worked as a paid escort, the Post reported.

Although Garibay told the Associated Press she did not believe Adams played a role in the fire, Yuba City police said the district attorney’s unusually hands-on involvement in a relatively minor arson case -- along with jealous texts he sent to Garibay -- prompted authorities to name him as a suspect, according to the Post.

Adams, who is the former president of the California District Attorneys Assn., did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press.

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