News

Man Arrested Over 7-Vehicle Fire at Anime Los Angeles Hotel Lot

Police arrested a suspect in an arson case that occurred on early Sunday morning in the parking lot of the Azure Hotel and Suites, adjacent to the Ontario Convention Center and Doubletree Ontario Airport Hotel — the venues for the Anime Los Angeles anime convention in Ontario, California.

The parking lot's night manager told news outlets that he looked at a surveillance video that showed a man pouring two cans of gasoline over a car and then attempting to set it on fire with a cigarette, but was unsuccessful. The night manager stated the man then supposedly used his lighter to start the fire.

Police arrested 27-year-old Riverside resident Matthew Masumi Toyotome on suspicion of arson later on Sunday. Ontario police stated that Toyotome was acquainted with the owner of the car that was targeted.

An attendee of the convention named Julia Moreno Jenkins reported in an Instagram post on Sunday that she was the owner of the targeted car, and that she was "specifically targeted and attacked by an obsessed stalker." Jenkins' Instagram post links to a GoFundMe page. Ontario police have not confirmed to news outlets that Jenkins' car was targeted or damaged in the incident, and ANN has not independently confirmed Jenkins' report. Ontario police told ANN that it does not release victim information.

The police said that the fire began with one vehicle, and then later spread to nearby cars, damaging at least seven. Police stated no injuries were reported.

The guests at the Azure Hotel and Suites were evacuated for 30 to 45 minutes. Many of the guests in the hotel and other adjacent hotels were attending Anime Los Angeles, which began on January 10 and continued until Sunday.

Sources: ABC 7 Eyewitness News (Jade Hernandez), KTLA 5 (Nouran Salahieh, Lauren Lyster), The Press-Enterprise (Richard K. De Atley), Julia Moreno Jenkins' Instagram account