Anthony Ray Gonzales booking photo
HOLLISTER — Police have arrested 33-year-old Anthony Ray Gonzales for the second time in as many months after he was caught on city CCTV cameras setting a dumpster on fire in an alley on San Benito Street last Wednesday.
On November 16th, Police and Fire personnel responded to a report of a structure fire. When they arrived at the location, they found a recycling dumpster in the back alley at 649 San Benito Street had been set ablaze. The Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire before it was able to catch on the adjacent buildings.
Police then examined footage from the downtown surveillance system and discovered the entire incident had been caught on camera. A male subject was seen entering the dumpster enclosure area and apparently urinating prior to lighting a cigarette. He is then seen lighting an object on fire and tossing it in the dumpster, causing the contents of the dumpster to catch fire.
The subject was wearing a camouflage jacket with jeans and white shoes.
One Hollister Police officer recognized the subject as Ray Gonzales, with whom he’d had prior contact a few months ago. Heclocated Gonzales in the 500 block of San Benito Street, whereupon he was arrested for arson and booked into the San Benito County Jail.
Gonzales was previously cited for slashing American flags owned by a Boy Scout troop in the downtown area of San Benito Street on September 11th.
