Brian J. White And His Neighbors Detain Suspected Arsonist Wielding Blowtorch Amid LA Fires

Brian J. White stopped a suspected arsonist amid the Los Angeles fires the Criminal Minds actor sprung into action on Thursday apprehending a suspect who was allegedly wielding a blowtorch in the Woodland Hills. White detailed to the outlet how he and his neighbors made a citizen arrest, holding the person there until the police were able to get to the scene. White recalled seeing nearby fires from their house and deciding that it was time to pack up and get his family out of the area. However, everything changed when White heard something happening outside his home, and found his neighbor yelling at someone trying to light the actor’s trash on fire. “We were packing up, and all of a sudden, out front of our house, I hear screaming, ‘Put it down, put it down,’” White recalled. “I thought somebody had a gun, and my neighbor was in duress, so my daughter went and hid in the closet, and I went running upstairs to go outside and help my neighbor. Brian, along with two neighbors, caught up with the suspect and then cornered them, asking questions and trying to gather information about his motive. After the suspect became more aggressive, White then explained that they were going to move in for a “citizen’s arrest.“He then became very aggressive about being asked what he was doing here,” White added. “He said he was looking for a place to hang out. And we’re like, well, this isn’t the place to hang out… Two of our neighbors work on cars in the garages; they had zip ties in one garage and a little bit of rope in another garage. So we took him down, detained him, and waited for the police. Sixteen cruisers showed up within about seven minutes of us calling, and the rest is on the news. The video of the incident backs up White’s claims, showing the neighbors descending upon the suspect and apprehending him. And while the cops did late appear on the scene to make the arrest, the outlet reports that LAPD didn’t have enough evidence to arrest the person for arson, so he was instead arrested for felon probation violation.

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