Arsonists often fit a similar profile
By Ed Pearce, KOLO-TV
Investigators say the King Fire, now burning out of control near Pollock Pines, was deliberately set and they have a suspect. Thirty-seven-year-old Wayne Huntsman has been arrested, pleading not guilty Friday to felony arson with enhancement.
Huntsman’s guilt or innocence and any possible motive will be determined by further investigation and prosecution, but arson is a crime which always leaves the rest of us with a puzzling question: Who are these people and why do they set fires?
It turns out arson investigators have developed a profile. “We will always have a percentage of people who walk among us who commit acts like this and they are extremely dangerous,” says Terry Taylor, a captain and fire investigator with the East Fork Fire Protection District in Douglas County. He’s also a founding member of the Nevada Arson Investigators Association and an arson investigation instructor at the National Fire Academy.
The crime itself often destroys evidence and without witnesses the investigation can stall, but over the years a profile of who they are looking for has emerged. “White males, under 24 years of age,” says Taylor. “They’re sort of troubled. They have difficulty keeping employment. They have difficulty maintaining social relationships. If they’re 30 to 40 of age, people would think they behave like teenagers.”