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SUSPECT IN CUSTODY FOLLOWING ARSON FIRE AT WALMART

A suspect is in custody following an arson fire at Wal-mart early this morning. About 1:30 a.m., propane tanks stored outside the garden area caught on fire in front of the store. When firefighters from Yucca Valley, Yucca Mesa, Joshua Tree, Wonder Valley, the Combat Center, and Morongo Valley arrived, flames were showing and the fire had spread into the eaves of the roof and was burning fertilizer and other items in the garden area. Quick work by firefighters contained the fire to the garden area of the Walmart. There were no injuries.
Deputies and Wal-Mart management reviewed their video tapes and found detailed camera footage showing a man setting fire to the caged racks of propane tanks outside the garden area of the store by using an accelerant and a lighter. Yucca Valley Deputy Troy Kaukani immediately identified the suspect from the surveillance footage as 56-year-old Dennis Chance. Chance is a well-known transient who frequents the area and has had numerous contacts with Yucca Valley deputies. Deputies went to a nearby gas station where Chance was seen on surveillance video buying gasoline and pumping it into what appeared to be a white Clorox type-bottle approximately an hour before the incident. He left the store and was captured on video pouring the contents of the white bottle on the propane cages before igniting them. After an extensive search of the area, Kaukani found Chance, who was wearing the same clothing as seen on video. Dennis Chance, 56, was arrested on suspicion of arson. Dennis Chance was booked at the West Valley Detention Center with his bail set at $250,000.


Photo courtesy Carl Pillen
Photo courtesy Carl Pillen

Photo courtesy Carl Pillen
Photo courtesy Carl Pillen

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