Man charged with felony arson for setting Hard Rock Hotel fire

A felony arson charge was filed on Friday against a 21-year-old Hemet man accused of intentionally setting a fire in a room where someone was sleeping at the Hard Rock Hotel in Palm Springs.

Aaron Thomas Beaver, who’s additionally charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawfully causing a property fire, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Beaver was arrested at his home Tuesday evening in connection with the
fire, which occurred around 5:15 that morning, according to Palm Springs police Sgt. Harvey Reed.

Investigators determined that the occupants had invited a person they
didn’t know to the room, and later asked him to leave because of an argument, Reed said.

“Later that evening, two of the occupants, who had earlier left the room, returned and discovered a fire inside which they were able to extinguish,” he said. “The room was occupied by someone who was sleeping at the time of the fire, but no one was injured.”

The fire caused about $2,000 in damage to the carpet and other hotel
property.

Beaver was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, according to jail records.