LA fires suspect probed over German blaze
Source: Agencies |
January 5, 2012, Thursday
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THE suspect in a string of arson attacks in the Los Angeles area is also under investigation in his home country of Germany for a house fire last autumn, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Harry Burkhart, 24, is suspected of more than 50 arson attacks over the New Year weekend that caused US$3 million in damage.
Authorities believe he was angry over his mother's legal troubles and went on a nighttime rampage of burning parked cars a day after she made an initial court appearance last week.
Burkhart is being investigated in connection with an October 14 house fire in the Marburg area north of Frankfurt, Germany, Marburg prosecutors' spokeswoman Annemarie Wied said yesterday. He came to the authorities' attention after filing an insurance claim on the house owned by his family the day it burned down, she said.
Burkhart has not yet been questioned in the case, and there has been no warrant issued for his arrest, Wied said.
Burkhart was in Los Angeles by Oct. 26 - 12 days after the Marburg area fire - according to U.S. court papers, which say he went with his mother that day to the German consulate to renew his passport.
Court documents unsealed on Tuesday revealed that Burkhart's mother, Dorothee Burkhart, is charged in Germany with 19 counts of fraud, including failing to pay for a 2004 breast augmentation surgery and pilfering security deposits from renters.
During a federal court appearance on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Dorothee Burkhart scanned the room looking for her son, apparently unaware he was also behind bars.
"Can you bring my son inside?" she pleaded with court officials. "Where is my son?" She appeared perplexed, wondering aloud if her son had disappeared or was dead. At one point, she said he is mentally ill and questioned whether Nazis knew where she and her son lived.
Both mother and son are being held without bail.
Harry Burkhart was taken into custody after authorities received a tip from federal officials who recognized him in a security video.
"When they saw the security footage, they recognized him and contacted the arson task force," a State Department official said.
Burkhart had been in court on Thursday afternoon at his mother's hearing when he launched into a tirade, saying "F*** the United States!" said a spokesman at the US attorney's office in Los Angeles.
A law enforcement official said authorities believe Burkhart went on the arson spree because he was angry over his mother's legal troubles.
Outside Burkhart's Hollywood apartment, some neighbors described him as a loner who loitered around the commercial strip at night and could be heard arguing with his mother.
But Shlomo Elady, a hair stylist who trimmed Burkhart's hair, recalled someone who spoke three languages and cared for a sickly mother. "He's not a creepy guy," Elady said.
Burkhart arrived in the US in October, and his non-immigrant visa is set to expire January18, authorities said. His mother last entered the country lawfully in January 2007 and left four months later, officials said.
In May 2010, Burkhart and his mother applied for refugee status in Canada but were denied.
Harry Burkhart, 24, is suspected of more than 50 arson attacks over the New Year weekend that caused US$3 million in damage.
Authorities believe he was angry over his mother's legal troubles and went on a nighttime rampage of burning parked cars a day after she made an initial court appearance last week.
Burkhart is being investigated in connection with an October 14 house fire in the Marburg area north of Frankfurt, Germany, Marburg prosecutors' spokeswoman Annemarie Wied said yesterday. He came to the authorities' attention after filing an insurance claim on the house owned by his family the day it burned down, she said.
Burkhart has not yet been questioned in the case, and there has been no warrant issued for his arrest, Wied said.
Burkhart was in Los Angeles by Oct. 26 - 12 days after the Marburg area fire - according to U.S. court papers, which say he went with his mother that day to the German consulate to renew his passport.
Court documents unsealed on Tuesday revealed that Burkhart's mother, Dorothee Burkhart, is charged in Germany with 19 counts of fraud, including failing to pay for a 2004 breast augmentation surgery and pilfering security deposits from renters.
During a federal court appearance on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Dorothee Burkhart scanned the room looking for her son, apparently unaware he was also behind bars.
"Can you bring my son inside?" she pleaded with court officials. "Where is my son?" She appeared perplexed, wondering aloud if her son had disappeared or was dead. At one point, she said he is mentally ill and questioned whether Nazis knew where she and her son lived.
Both mother and son are being held without bail.
Harry Burkhart was taken into custody after authorities received a tip from federal officials who recognized him in a security video.
"When they saw the security footage, they recognized him and contacted the arson task force," a State Department official said.
Burkhart had been in court on Thursday afternoon at his mother's hearing when he launched into a tirade, saying "F*** the United States!" said a spokesman at the US attorney's office in Los Angeles.
A law enforcement official said authorities believe Burkhart went on the arson spree because he was angry over his mother's legal troubles.
Outside Burkhart's Hollywood apartment, some neighbors described him as a loner who loitered around the commercial strip at night and could be heard arguing with his mother.
But Shlomo Elady, a hair stylist who trimmed Burkhart's hair, recalled someone who spoke three languages and cared for a sickly mother. "He's not a creepy guy," Elady said.
Burkhart arrived in the US in October, and his non-immigrant visa is set to expire January18, authorities said. His mother last entered the country lawfully in January 2007 and left four months later, officials said.
In May 2010, Burkhart and his mother applied for refugee status in Canada but were denied.
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