Photo: Brian J. Dean
ANTIOCH — An arson suspect was arrested for a fire at a homeless encampment which threaten nearby homes. The suspect allegedly assaulted a homeless person and set their encampment on fire.
Police received a report of the assault October 13 shortly after 6 p.m. Officers were dispatched to the encampment near the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue and Wild Horse Drive.
Investigating officers learned the victim was struck in the head with a metal pipe. The perpetrator next lit a rag on fire and tossed it into the victim’s tent. The victim sustained minor injuries and was later treated by paramedics at the scene.
Flames destroyed the encampment, spread to an adjacent hillside, and threatened several homes located on Spaulding Street.
Firefighters from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con-Fire) responded and extinguished the blaze. Damage was limited to the homeless encampment.
Meanwhile, the man suspected of committing the assault and starting the fire had fled on a bicycle. However, a witness took a photograph of him and provided it to police.
At approximately 8:15 p.m., he was spotted on a bike crossing Hillcrest Avenue at Larkspur Drive. The man identified as 40-year-old Brian J. Dean was detained and arrested by police without further incident.
Dean was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, where he remains in custody in lieu of $305,000 bond. Dean presently faces three felony charges –
Assault with a deadly weapon/not a firearm
Arson of an inhabited structure
Possession of an incendiary device
