Man behind bars charged with arson and assault with a deadly weapon
A man is behind bars after deputies said he set 10 small brush fires and threw a knife at a deputy in Twentynine Palms.
Fifty-three-year-old Michael Pace was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer and for arson.
Firefighters and deputies responded Saturday to a brush fire behind a Stater Brothers store in the 71-700 block of Twentynine Palms Highway.
Sheriff’s deputies found a man fitting witnesses’ descriptions in the nearby foothills.
As the deputies approached, they said the man pulled out two knives.
After a brief struggle, the deputies subdued and handcuffed Pace.
Pace was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
