Convicted arsonist arrested for So. Cal fires
A convicted arsonist has been arrested on suspicion of setting fires in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise says 47-year-old Steven Rutherford was arrested on Friday at his parents’ home in Banning.
He remains jailed Tuesday on $5 million bail.
Authorities say Rutherford was arrested on suspicion of arson of a structure or forest land and arson with great bodily injury. State fire officials say he was arrested on nine counts but they aren’t providing details.
Rutherford’s sister, Stephanie Dodd of Beaumont, tells the Press-Enterprise that Rutherford was convicted of arson in 1989.
She says Rutherford is a truck driver but he’d been out of work because of an accident and was living in a trailer at a Banning campground.
