News

Man arrested for setting arson fire

July 23, 2010 3:38 pm by Frances Dinkelspiel

Travis Eugene Churchill

Berkeley police have arrested a man they believe set a trash can fire on Tuesday outside of Sam’s Market on Telegraph, one of a series of nine arson fires that have been plaguing the city.

Travis Eugene Churchill, 25, has been charged with one count of arson and is being held on $50,000 bail in Berkeley City Jail.

A video surveillance camera set up outside Sam’s Market on Telegraph filmed two males walking by around 3:50 am on July 20. A few minutes later, the camera captured a trash bin on fire. Police arrested Churchill from People’s Park a short time later, according to a police department press release. Churchill allegedly was wearing similar clothes to one of the men filmed in the surveillance video.

Police believe there is a link between the fire set at Sam’s Market and the other arson fires, according to the press release.

Since Churchill’s arrest, no more suspicious fires have been set.

7 Comments

Tagged ,
?
  • http://basiscraft.com Thomas Lord

    Hmm. Wonder if it isn’t this homeless blogger:

    http://beerandblood.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/there-and-back-again/

  • Guest

    People’s Park has nothing to do with the fires. There was no reason to mention the Park. He was arrested. That should have been enough to say. The park is irrelevant. Every time the park gets linked to a crime story, it just furthers the myth that park is inherently an evil place which warps people to do bad things.

    Also, young men do stupid things, people should not be blowing what he did out of proportion. Maybe if housing wasn’t so expensive, and there were enough support services for younger adults, people wouldn’t lash-out. He ran a blog, which seemed coherent and pleasant, so it doesn’t seem like he is a bad guy in his core. He just probably hit a rough patch. Someone with true criminal intent would have left town.

    I hope he gets community service, with probation, and nothing else.

  • Diane

    @Guest: “should not be blowing what he did out of proportion”??? Are you kidding me? I don’t care what his intent was, it’s dangerous and malign to start fires in a crowded urban area, especially in the dry season. There’s no excuse for it – period. I don’t care what kind of guy he is – the action needs to be addressed, not his circumstance, not his pleasantness, not his locale or anything else. And the action requires prosecution. I don’t want to live in a city in which, oh – just a few fires – are OK.

  • Pipiolo

    The Park is relevant – it attracts people like this. Have you been there? Last time I walked by the pit bull of a “habitué” chased me off the sidewalk. Eventually one of this guy’s (alleged) fires is going to burn down a house and maybe kill people. Please…close the park!! Oh, and check out the Reno arrest record for someone with the same name: “Battery on an Officer/O&R/Domestic Battery” The psychos we attract ….

  • laura menard

    Anyone with the eyes open can witness the events in Peoples Park daily.

    There has been three significant criminal incidents associated with or adjacent to the park this summer: arson, rape, and murder. The rape investigation hit a dead end because the victim (who scream bloody murder for help) was unable to cooperate during the medical exam. Unclear if she suffered from drug induced delusions or mental illness, which resulted in her being uncooperative, though she was clearly traumatized.

    Incident data proves beyond a reasonable threshold Peoples Park is a public nuisance, residents and business owners could easily win a small claims suit against UCB ($7,000 each plaintiff) which could compel UCB to take corrective action. $7,000 x 200 =1,400,000

    Go for it Telegraph Ave merchants association director, Roland Peterson, after all the City of Berkeley economic development office encouraged Sacramento St merchants to use the same tactic to deal with a blighted building that attracted crime.

    The evidence against Peoples Park far surpasses other Berkeley properties proving the case for public nuisance.

    Again the official bird in Berkeley is the OSTRICH!

  • Diane

    I get the sense with People’s Park that older folks, who may remember its more benign incarnation from years past, view it fondly (and perhaps as a symbol). While the rest of us who moved here in the past decade or two view it as a dangerous place, and avoid it. Many of us avoid Telegraph entirely because of it. I don’t quite understand why it has the aura it does in this era. It’s best days are past.

  • Jane Tierney

    There is nothing benign about setting fires. Ask the thousands of Berkeley and Oakland residents who lost their homes and families who lost loved ones in the Hills fire of ’91. Those fires were also attributed to homeless camping behind an apartment complex in the woods. Homelessness is a problem, and mentally ill, dual diagnosis (mentally ill and substance abusers) is a problem that is costing the residents and City of Berkeley lots! Freedom vs. restrictions, an age old conundrum. Prosecute the fire setter. Diagnose and restrict. If guilty, he’s obviously a danger to himself and others.