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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

San Jose Serial Arsonist Patrick William Brennan Sets Dozen Fires in a Week

San Jose Serial Arsonist Patrick William Brennan Sets Dozen Fires in a Week ---
tags: Attack Church,  Timeline, wildfires, arsonist, sex offender

January 8-12 2014 San Jose Serial Arsonist Sets Dozen Fires in a Week Greater Saint John Baptist Church on E. San Antonio St. in San Jose was damagedby arson, and another fire was set on the property on Sunday January 12. A series of fires have been evidently set by the same person in the Roosevelt, Little Portugal, Wooster and Five Wounds neighborhoods, as well as the eastern parts of the Brookwood Terrace, Naglee Park and Northside neighborhoods near downtown San Jose, California. January 13 was the first time in six days there were no suspicious fires after a string of 12 suspicious fires over five consecutive days.  A string of a dozen intentionally set fires from Jan. 8 to jan. 12, including a five-alarm blaze on Jan. 9 that destroyed a 125,000-square-foot warehouse. Firefighters originally said that the warehouse fire was not connected to the serial arsons. An officer searched through databases of registered arsonists until he found one that looked like a sketch, and Patrick William Brennan was arrested on January 15 after surveillance.

The suspect has  2001 conviction for sexually assaulting a minor. He was a registered arsonist in Campbell. In 1995 he was convicted on misdemeanor charge for setting fire to forest debris in and around the Grand Canyon National Park. He set 16 fires in Santa Clara County's western hills on or near hiking trails in 1999, leading to a year in jail. At the time he pled guilty, and sought mental counseling for his dyslexia, and told a TV reporter ""I'm not just some crazed maniac going out there trying to destroy their properties or their lives" he said."

 A blaze Saturday the 11th burned an elderly couple out of their Victorian style home. All of the fires flared up between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. and fire officials have declared that at least eight of the fires were started intentionally. The story was covered by NBC television news on January 14.

*Timeline

  • 2001 conviction for sexually assaulting a minor.
  • Mid 1990s on a misdemeanor charge for setting fire to forest debris in and around the Grand Canyon National Park
  • 1999: Set 16 fires in Santa Clara County's western hills on or near hiking trails in 1999, leading to a year in jail.
  • January 2014 A string of a dozen intentionally set fires from Jan. 8 to jan. 12, 
  • January 9, 2014 five-alarm blaze destroys a 125,000-square-foot warehouse. 
  • January 15, 2014 arrested 



Reference: San Jose Mercury News
*Sources




  • San Jose arson fires: Patrick William Brennan confesses ...

    www.mercurynews.com/.../san-jose-arson-fires-s...

    San Jose Mercury News
    Jan 17, 2014 - Court documents reveal that Patrick William Brennan admitted he started a string of arson fires in San Jose, using a variety of materials, some of which he found ...




  • San Jose: Convicted arsonist and sex offender blamed for ...

    www.mercurynews.com/.../san-jose-arrest-serial-...

    San Jose Mercury News
    Jan 16, 2014 - Police have identified the serial arson suspect as 48-year-old San Jose resident Patrick William Brennan, a registered arsonist and sex offender they believe is ...




  • Patrick William Brennan, San Jose Serial Arson Suspect ...

    www.nbcbayarea.com/.../Patrick-William-Brennan-San-Jose-Serial...

    KNTV
    Jan 20, 2014 - A suspected serial arsonist, who allegedly set off a string of fires in in San Jose this month, was charged in Santa Clara County on Friday with 10 counts ofarson ...




  • Patrick William Brennan, San Jose Serial Arson Suspect, in ...

    www.nbcbayarea.com/.../San-Jose-Police-Arrest-Serial-Arsonist-2...

    KNTV
    Jan 17, 2014 - San Jose police have identified a serial arson suspect who is a registered sex offender as well as a "registered" arsonist who was convicted for setting a fire at ...




  • Interview with serial arsonist in 1999 showed deep-seated ...

    www.ktvu.com › News › Crime & Law

    KTVU
    Jan 16, 2014 - Accused serial arsonist Patrick William Brennan is in custody at the Santa Clara County jail being held on $1 million bail, but an interview KTVU conducted with ..KTVU reporter Robert Handa conducted an exclusive jailhouse interview with the then 33-year old from Sunnyvale in September of 1999 after he was arrested for a string of outdoor arsons in the San Jose.
    At that time, he was called the South Bay Arsonist.
    His answers at the time provide fascinating insight into what drove him to this point now.
    Handa asked Brennan what he wanted people to think of him since he’d granted KTVU the interview. Brennan answered in a polite but tormented voice.
    "I'm not just some crazed maniac going out there trying to destroy their properties or their lives" he said.
    "What are you? Who are you?" Handa asked.
    "[Laugh] Well, actually I'm a fairly nice person I guess. I'm just someone with problems who needs help," Brennan responded.
    At the time he had already been convicted for setting fires as a worker at the Grand Canyon and his South Bay targets, then, were outdoor sites.
    "I don't know, I guess it was more if a stress reliever," Brennan said. "I hit areas I didn't think would burn as bad as they did."
    After his 1999 arrest, Brennan was taken into custody for sexual battery on a relative and ended up having to register in California as a past sex and arson offender.
    Those registry listings helped lead investigators to him this week.
    The fires he's accused of setting now have been much more severe and his psychological condition will be examined again.
    In 1999, KTVU asked Brennan if there was anything in his background to explain some if his behavior.
    "I don't know,” he said. "I have been diagnosed with severe learning disabilities. I have dyslexia."After that interview, Brennan went to court and pleaded guilty and asked for psychological help.




  • .




  • Patrick William Brennan was booked on two counts of felony ...

    www.latimes.com/.../la-me-ln-san-jose-serial-arsonist-...

    Los Angeles Times
    Jan 16, 2014 - San Jose Police released this mug shot of Patrick William Brennan, 48, who was arrested on suspicion of starting as many as 13 arson fires in six days.




  • Suspect arrested in downtown San Jose arson fires - Los ...

    articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/.../la-me-ln-san-jose-serial-arson-20140116

    Jan 16, 2014 - San Jose Police released this mug shot of Patrick William Brennan, 48, who was ... Brennan reportedly has been arrested before in connection with arson cases 



    • http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Jose-Police-Arrest-Serial-Arsonist-240537521.html
    Jan 17, 2014 • Updated at 11:04 AM PDT
    San Jose police have identified a serial arson suspect who
    is a registered sex offender as well as a "registered" arsonist
    who was convicted for setting a fire at Grand Canyon National Park nearly 20 years agon 1999, a suspect identified as Patrick Brennan, who was 33 at the time, was arrested by the California Department of Forestry  in connection with a string of 16 fires set in the hills above Los Gatos, Cupertino and San Jose, according to several media reports including this article in MetroActive Registered arsonists, like registered sex offenders, must log in at their city police departments if they have been convicted of arson. The list is maintained by the California Department of Justice, which notes in its annual report that  7,500 properties were destroyed by arson in 2012 compared to 11,400 in 2007. In the same time period, 940 people were arrested statewide on arson charges in 2012, compared to 1,030 in 2007. (PDF)
    .

    1/21/2014
      1. San Jose Mercury News ‎- by Mark Emmons ‎- 1 day ago
        Alleged San Jose serial arsonist Patrick William Brennan has a long criminal history and is described by mobile home park neighbors as an ...

      2. Now, a portrait of a deeply troubled man with a long criminal past is emerging. Not only does Brennan, 48, have a history of starting fires from the Grand Canyon National Park to Santa Clara County's foothills, but he also has a 2001 conviction for sexually assaulting a minor.
        Arson and forensic experts who have followed the case say that what they're learning about Brennan fits the patterns of reclusive, emotionally disturbed serial arsonists who start with small fires and escalate to bigger ones -- often for sexual excitement.
      criminal past stretches back to the mid-1990s, when he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge for setting fire to forest debris in and around the Grand Canyon National Park. Brennan graduated to setting 16 fires in Santa Clara County's western hills on or near hiking trails in 1999, leading to a year in jail.

      1. San Jose officer credited for arson detective work | www.ktvu.com

        www.ktvu.com › News › Crime & Law‎

        2 days ago - A San Jose police sergeant is being credited for investigative work that led to the arrest of a suspected arsonist who allegedly set off a string of ...
    Brennan then laid low, bouncing between motels on Monterey Road and buoyed by a conservator who, tasked with overseeing his ailing mother and him, paid his rent and put a weekly stipend of about $125 into his bank account to help offset his chronic joblessness.
    Since May, he has lived at an East San Antonio Street mobile home park,
     patrol Sgt. Jason Kidwell, who at the end of a shift last weekend combed through law-enforcement databases, including one of registered arsonists in California. Kidwell came across a photo of a man who lived in the middle of the arson zone and resembled a police sketch and home-surveillance images: Brennan.
    The discovery prompted police surveillance of Brennan starting last Sunday, ending with his arrest three days later. Brennan surrendered peacefully and then freely admitted to setting the fires, 
    1. San Francisco Chronicle‎ - 3 days ago
    2. Albany Times Union‎ - 4 days ago
    1/21/2014

    A second suspicious fire was reported in the lot of a church in the area of South 26th and East San Antonio streets, not far from the first fire..Congregants of the African-American church at the corner of South 26th ... "Keep your eyes and ears open," The second fire was spotted at an outbuilding just before 5 a.m. at the Greater Saint John Baptist Church at 1230 E. San Antonio St., which had been damaged by another arson fire on Wednesday, Brown said.



      1. San Jose Mercury News ‎- 1 day ago
        Congregants of the African-American church at the corner of South 26th ... "Keep your eyes and ears open," San Jose Fire Department Capt. Parishioners of San Jose's Greater St. John The Baptist Church surveyed the unfathomable destruction of their storage trailer on Sunday morning, the second strike against their tidy church and the latest in a wave of arson plaguing a modest downtown neighborhood.
        "We'll get through this. We'll survive," said one church official, who would not give his name. Congregants of the African-American church at the corner of South 26th and East San Antonio streets, dressed in their Sunday best, gazed at the structure's damage -- repaired by plywood after last Wednesday morning's blaze and now further charred.

    2. San Jose arson: Two more suspicious fires investigated early Sunday

      www.mercurynews.com/.../san-jose-two-suspicious-fires-investigated-ear...‎

      2 days ago - The second fire was in the rear lot at the rear Great Saint John BaptistChurch, the same place where a suspicious fire was set on Wednesday,  ...The fires have burned in the Roosevelt, Little Portugal, Wooster and Five Wounds neighborhoods, as well as the eastern parts of the Brookwood Terrace, Naglee Park and Northside neighborhoods. The shifts run from midnight-2 a.m.; 2-4 a.m. and 4-6 a.m.

    3. No damage to San Jose church after debris fire on property - San ...

      www.mercurynews.com/.../no-damage-san-jose-church-after-debris-fire‎

      6 days ago - A small fire broke out early this morning behind a church, which was not damaged by the blaze, according to the fire department.

    4. San Jose arson: Two more suspicious fires investigated early ...

      www.mercurynews.com/.../san-jose-two-suspicious-fires-investigated-ear...‎

      2 days ago - A second suspicious fire was reported in the lot of a church in the area of South 26th and East San Antonio streets, not far from the first fire,  ...

    http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24900310/san-jose-firefighters-respond-structure-fire-near-alum  January 13, 2013 For the first time in six days... no suspicious fires had occurred overnight...ended a string of 12 suspicious fires over five consecutive days, including a blaze Saturday morning that burned an elderly couple out of their Victorian style home...all of which occurred between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Firefighters have said at least eight of the fires were started intentionally.

    1. Reward Posted for Suspected Serial Arsonist in San Jose - ABC News

      abcnews.go.com › ABC News Blogs › Headlines › Nation‎

      12 hours ago - The San Jose firefighters union is offering a $10000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man who authorities believe set eleven of ...

    2. News for san jose serial arsonist


      1. NBC Bay Area ‎- 6 hours ago
        A new fire Monday morning near Alum Rock Park ignited fresh fears that a serial arsonist is still setting blazes across San Jose, with roughly a ...

      1. Serial arsonist unnerves San Jose residents after 13 fires - latimes ...

        www.latimes.com/.../la-me-ln-san-jose-serial-arsonist-20140113,0,46106...‎

        20 hours ago - San Jose residents are rallying to find a serial arsonist accused of setting at least 13 fires since Wednesday.

      2. Serial arsonist on the loose in San Jose - Videos - CBS News

        www.cbsnews.com/.../serial-arsonist-on-the-loose-in-san-jose/?...‎

        1 day ago - The hunt for a serial arsonist in San Jose, Calif. has intensified after about a dozen fires have been reported in the city's downtown area over ...

      3. Images for san jose serial arsonist

         - Report images

      4. San Jose: No suspicious fires Monday morning, but hunt for serial ...

        www.mercurynews.com/.../san-jose-firefighters-respond-structure-fire-ne...‎

        16 hours ago - Residents of neighborhoods around downtown San Jose woke up ... San Jose: No suspicious fires Monday morning, but hunt for serial arsonist  ...

      5. Hunt For San Jose Serial Arsonist Intensifies « CBS San Francisco

        sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/.../san-jose-serial-arsonist-...‎

        1 day ago
        SJFD Capt. Rob Brown said 11 of 13 fires that broke out in downtown San Jose were intentionally set. They ...

      6. San Jose Residents Keep Watch For Serial Arsonist « CBS San ...

        sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/.../san-jose-residents-keep...‎

        8 hours ago
        Residents in several San Jose neighborhoods pledge to keep watch through the night as the search continues ...

      7. Police on the hunt for suspected arsonist in California - CNN.com

        www.cnn.com/2014/01/12/us/california-fires/‎

        23 hours ago - Police and fire officials in San Jose, California are asking for the public's help to find the person responsible for setting roughly a dozen fires.

      8. Elderly San Jose couple escape fire linked to serial arsonist - SFGate

        www.sfgate.com/.../Elderly-San-Jose-couple-escape-fire-linked-to-51348...‎

        3 days ago - San Jose fire officials released a sketch of a "person of interest" in a series of arson fires in downtown San Jose in recent days, including one ...

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