Suspect In Custody After Firebombing 4th Avenue Jail

By Jimmy Jenkins
Published: Wednesday, August 2, 2017 - 6:23pm
Updated: Wednesday, August 2, 2017 - 6:27pm
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(Photo by Jimmy Jenkins - KJZZ)
Sheriff Penzone speaks outside the Fourth Avenue Jail after it was firebombed on Tuesday.

Authorities say a Mesa man firebombed Maricopa County’s 4th Avenue jail in Phoenix on Tuesday night. No one was injured, and one suspect is in custody.

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said Michael Arreola was arrested at his home in Mesa on Wednesday morning.    

MCSO says he threw three Molotov cocktails from his car at the 4th Avenue jail in two separate incidences on Tuesday.

Penzone said Arreola admitted to his actions and will likely face multiple felony charges. The sheriff condemned the act as an attack on law enforcement that would not be tolerated.

“It is an attack on the community at large," the sheriff said, standing outside the jail. "Whether it is this facility a school a church or anything that is a foundation of this community," Penzone said.

About 1,700 inmates and 200 county employees are located at the jail. No one was injured in the incidents but MCSO said one of the bombs exploded close to a passerby.

Penzone said the investigation is ongoing, but he has no reason to believe any other suspects were involved.