After a series of fire bombings directed at the 4th Avenue Jail, Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies took a Mesa man into custody early Wednesday morning. Michael Anthony Arreola, age 27, surrendered without resistance at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday after investigators traced his vehicle to 125 South 56th Street # 140 in Mesa.
Arreola is expected to face multiple felony charges for two separate incidents in which he is alleged to have tossed Molotov cocktails at the 4th Avenue Jail. The incendiaries broke apart on the sidewalk near the areas where inmates are released and near the sally port where police agencies transport those arrested for booking. No one was injured in the attacks.
The first incident occurred just after 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 1, and the second came just before 7:00 p.m. on the same day. In each instance, surveillance video shows a white minivan slowly approaching the building and stopping. Then, the burning Molotov cocktail can be seen as it is thrown from the driver’s window toward the jail. The vehicle then drives away. Pedestrians were in the area and in the first case one individual narrowly escaped the explosion and fire.
Using jail video surveillance as well as video from Valley Metro cameras, MCSO with assistance from the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC), was able to narrow the suspect vehicle, a late model Mazda MPV, from 200 to less than 20, and to the actual vehicle found at the address in Mesa. The MCSO Jail Investigations Team played a critical role in the investigation by securing the scene and identifying witnesses both among the MCSO Detention Officer staff and civilian bystanders.
Arreola has previous arrests for assault, burglaries, and damaging property both in California and in Phoenix and Tempe in Arizona. He has been held on those charges in the Maricopa County Jail. Arreola is being questioned about the fire bombings and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is preparing charges.