Seven SUVs torched at two San Diego dealerships

Vehicles burned at two San Diego dealerships

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

(11-29) 12:11 PST SAN DIEGO, (AP) --

The first fire was reported at 2:40 a.m. Tuesday at Guy Hill Cadillac, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Two Escalades were damaged, causing an estimated $17,000 loss.

About 10 minutes later, someone set fire to five Armadas at Pacific Nissan, a few blocks from the Cadillac dealership, Luque said. That fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damage.

Luque said no note or message was left at the scene, and investigators believe the fires could be connected to other recent arsons in the area.

"This is just a random act of arson where we've had other similar random acts of arson," Luque said. "Our investigation indicates there's no reason to believe the eco-terrorists were involved in this."

Luque declined to say how the fires were set and whether there was any video surveillance, citing the ongoing investigation. No arrests had been made.

In 2003, scores of SUVs were destroyed or damaged by arson in San Gabriel Valley suburbs east of Los Angeles.

In that case, a California Institute of Technology physics student was convicted of using Molotov cocktails to start the fires at dealerships and homes. The vandalism included spray-painted messages such as "Fat, Lazy Americans,""polluter,""smog machine" and "ELF," an acronym for the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmental group.