The Indian-American citizen living in California was booked for allegedly setting fire to garage doors

Roshan Patel, 44, of Fremont, California, was arrested by Fremont police for allegedly setting fire to four residential garage doors. Photo: Courtesy of the Fremont Police Department Twitter

Fremont Police arrested Roshan Patel, 44, of Fremont, California, on December 8th for arson and booked him into Fremont City Jail. Police say Patel was a suspect in at least four residential garage door fires and knew at least one of the residents he targeted.

According to a press release from the Fremont Police Department, early in the morning of December 8th, undercover detectives were monitoring the serial arson suspect. Patel was allegedly involved in garage door fires in the Castro Ln area on December 1st, Cougar Ci on December 4th and Hoyt St and Cougar Ci (same residence as December 4th) on December 6th in Fremont.

Police said officers could find private footage from residential cameras that provided a general description of the suspect’s vehicle. The detectives compared the footage from the private camera with the community camera network, which then provided a license plate for the suspicious vehicle.

Detectives began monitoring Patel and followed him to Hoyt Street at around 2:45 a.m. on December 8th, at the same address he had targeted on December 6th.

Patel was arrested walking back to his vehicle after detonating a vehicle parked in the residence. Detectives used a nearby garden hose to put out the car fire, the Fremont Police Department said.

“Detectives arrested 44 year old Roshan Patel after a series of 4 garage door fires last week. Detectives watched Patel watch him set a vehicle on fire this morning. He was arrested while walking back to his vehicle, ”Fremont PD tweeted on December 8th.