Police arrest man suspected of setting 25 fires across the valley

A man accused of setting 25 structures and vehicles ablaze throughout the Coachella Valley is being held on $1 million bail, fire officials reported Monday.

Luis Josue Perales, 22, is accused of setting fire to four occupied buildings, one unoccupied building, six vehicles and 14 other miscellaneous pieces of property, according to Jody Hagemann of the Riverside County Fire Department.

He was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on suspicion of four counts of arson of an inhabited structure and 21 counts of arson of property, she said.

County fire investigators, with assistance from the Palm Springs police and fire departments, arrested Perales on the morning of March 31 on South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, according to Hagemann.

KESQ spoke with Perales wife who says her husband is innocent. She told us her husband would call her right after calling the fire department when he saw a fire. She said this happened multiple times.

“I don’t think anything of it. He just is at the right place at the right time and he’s just helping. He’s not this type of guy where he is going to see a fire and just take off,” said Angelica Perales.

She also told us that her husband had seen several fires around their home. Including trash can, truck, and palm tree fires.

Nineteen of the fires occurred in the city of Indio and nearby areas and six of the fires happened in Palm Springs.