SAN DIEGO (AP) - Two men are in custody on suspicion of arson in connection with a fire that destroyed a bank in a San Diego suburb in May after protesters demonstrated against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
Investigators arrested Alexander Jacob King, 19, and Ricky Bernard Cooper, 33, on Monday and booked them on arson charges in relation to the fire at Chase Bank in La Mesa, a city of 60,000 that borders San Diego.
Cooper is also suspected of looting various businesses in the La Mesa area, according to a joint statement issued by the FBI, La Mesa police and San Diego police.
The bank across from La Mesa City Hall and police headquarters went up in flames after the protest which started May 30 devolved into looting and arson the next morning. A neighboring Union Bank branch also burned along with two cars near City Hall.
Television video showed people using baseball bats to smash windows and people running into stores and stealing items.
King remained jailed Tuesday in lieu of $50,000 bail. Cooper remained jailed in lieu of $115,000 bail. No details were released about the men and it was not known if either had an attorney yet.
The District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the cases to determine whether charges will be filed. No arraignment date has been set.
Protests over police brutality gripped the nation for weeks after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, laying bare tensions between police and the communities they serve. Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, used his knee to pin Floyd to the ground. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and one count of second-degree manslaughter.
La Mesa’s protest that coincided with the demonstrations nationwide also was in response to a local police officer who was seen on a video repeatedly pushing a black man onto a bench at a trolley station after saying the man had slapped his hand.
The officer involved has since left the police force.
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