By Filipa Ioannou
San Francisco Chronicle
HEALDSBURG, Calif. — A man was arrested Monday in Healdsburg after callers told sheriff’s deputies he was lighting fires while naked, officials said.
Witnesses called the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office about 5:45 a.m. Monday reporting that a nude man was setting fires in the middle of the 4700 block of Mill Creek Road in Healdsburg, an area flanked by dried brush and leaves, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived, they found a plastic garbage can in the middle of the road full of smoldering sticks and clothes, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
Nearby, deputies found another fire burning in the middle of the street, with Healdsburg firefighters working to put it out.
Deputies eventually contacted 36-year-old Jesse Wagy, who was carrying a propane torch, a book of matches and slightly less than six grams of methamphetamine, Crum said.
At the time deputies confronted Wagy he was wearing shorts, but no shirt despite the chilly 51-degree morning, Crum said. It was unclear if he had been completely naked, as witnesses initially described him, while setting the fires
“Wagy told deputies he and a friend were out practicing using fire extinguishers and that an unknown person told them it was OK. Wagy’s friend wasn’t located nor were any fire extinguishers, or any evidence that an extinguisher had recently been used,” Crum said in a statement.
Investigators believe Wagy used methamphetamine shortly before setting the fires, Crum said.
Wagy is being held at the Main Adult Detention Facility in Santa Rosa, according to county records. His bail is set at $10,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
Copyright 2017 San Francisco Chronicle