A Central Coast man is facing multiple charges stemming from a crime spree which include a fire which gutted a commercial building.
The incidents started early Tuesday morning on the 1900 block of South Broadway in Santa Maria. Firefighters arrived to find a vacant commercial building going up in flames, and determined it was arson. During the followup investigation, they discovered someone had tried to start a second fire behind a nearby convenience store, but it failed to ignite.
Later Tuesday morning, they found video surveillance footage of a man shattering the front window of a nearby business.
It led to the arrest of Martin Rodriguez of Santa Maria. Police detectives and Santa Maria Fire Department arson investigators say they linked him to the two fires. The 33-year-old man is facing multiple arson and vandalism charges from the string of incidents.
