Man pleads guilty to setting fire to occupied Coachella home
A man who set fire to a Coachella home while the homeowners were inside pleaded guilty Thursday to an arson charge and was immediately sentenced to three years in state prison.
Tomas Cardoso Flores, 25, of Coachella, was arrested the night of July 20. Deputies received a call that night from a witness who saw curtains on fire within the home in the 5200 block of Calle Techa, Riverside County sheriff’s Deputy Mike Vasquez said. The residents, including a child, were able to escape unharmed.
Flores was taken into custody just south of the home, near the intersection of Avenue 53 and Calle Empalme. A motive for the arson was not disclosed, nor did investigators reveal whether the defendant knew the residents.
Flores admitted a charge of arson of an inhabited structure. He was initially booked on suspicion of attempted murder, but was not charged with that count by prosecutors.
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