Pizzamania arson suspect is arrested as beloved restaurant readies for a comeback
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Set us as preferred When the half-century-old neighborhood staple Pizzamania burned to the ground, the Whittier community reacted with an outpouring of grief.Then, when residents found out that someone may have intentionally torched the building, their sadness turned to anger.Now, nearly two years to the day after the September 2024 fire roared through, authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the blaze.A man identified only as “Suspect Arreola” was detained Tuesday after Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at his Compton residence.An arrest warrant was issued last month after the L.A.
County district attorney’s office charged him with one count of arson of a structure, according to the Sheriff’s Department.He is also suspected of an October 2025 arson in the city of Riverside, and detectives believe he may be responsible for others, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Arreola was booked at the Pico Rivera sheriff’s station and is currently being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.Tuesday’s announcement brings a long-awaited update to the community in Whittier, where Pizzamania had served families in a strip mall on the 13500 block of Telegraph Road since 1973.The fire was reported around 2:25 a.m.
and engulfed five businesses within the mall.“I couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to do that many people harm,” said Jim Barritt, who co-owns Pizzamania with business partner Warren Haines.“We were going on our 52nd year.
It was pretty tough to take.”In the aftermath of the blaze, Haines told The Times that a surveillance camera from a nearby business had captured what appeared to be a person purposefully setting the building on fire.The disaster put about 50 Pizzamania employees out of work.
Barritt said news of the arrest came as a welcome surprise Tuesday....