Student arrested in Garfield High blaze
From Times staff and wire reports
June 13, 2007


A Garfield High School freshman has been arrested on suspicion of setting the fire that destroyed the school's historic 1925 auditorium last month.

The student, 16, whose name was not released because he is a minor, was detained June 5 near the campus after an investigation by Los Angeles school police and county fire and sheriff's investigators. He was charged with one count of felony arson and was being held at the Eastlake Juvenile Detention Facility.

The distinctive auditorium — with its ornate paneling, glass chandeliers and handcrafted wooden seats — sustained an estimated $30 million in damage in the May 20 blaze.