Suspect with 5 Prior Arson Arrests Jailed for Allegedly Setting 3 More Fires
Photo: Zabihullah Rahimi
FREMONT— A man previously arrested five times for arson was arrested again this month on suspicion of setting three more fires. The suspect is being held in county jail in lieu of $150,000 bond, pending a court hearing on August 4.
The suspect is 40-year-old, Zabihullah Rahimi, a homeless man who roams the streets of Fremont. Rahimi has been arrested 31 times in the last five years for illicit drug possession, setting fires and other offenses.
Rahimi is accused of setting two fires in open fields in northern Fremont on July 8.
He allegedly set another fire in a trash dumpster at Brookvale Shopping Center on Fremont Boulevard on July 9.
Firefighters extinguished all three fires before any property was threatened, and no injuries were reported.
A patrol officer working with a mental health professional contacted Rahimi shortly after the first two fires. However, he was released after being questioned, due to insufficient evidence at that time.
Later, detectives obtained surveillance camera recordings linking Rahimi to the first two fires. Rahimi was also observed leaving the area where the third fire was set.
Patrol officers detained him near the shopping center, and arson detectives arrested him after reviewing video evidence. He was taken into custody on July 9 at 12:31 a.m. He faces charges for arson and violation of probation for a vandalism conviction.
