By City News Service
May 19, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Arraignment is set today for a 57-year-old man charged with setting a four-alarm fire that caused extensive damage to the historic San Gabriel Mission last summer.
John David Corey also known as “Joker was charged May 4 with two felony counts of arson of an inhabited structure and one count each of arson during a state of emergency, first-degree residential burglary, and possession of flammable material in connection with the July 11 fire. He could face up to 14 years in prison if convicted of all counts.
Prosecutors allege Corey broke into the mission and started the blaze, which spread to the roof and along the length of the church. The fire, which was reported at 4:24 a.m., took more than two hours to knock down.
Arraignment is set today for a 57-year-old man charged with setting a four-alarm fire that caused extensive damage to the historic San Gabriel Mission last summer.
Man charged in 2020 arson at California s famed Mission San Gabriel Father John Molyneux, pastor at Mission San Gabriel in San Gabriel, Calif., speaks May 4, 2021, about last year s arson attack. John David Corey Jr. was charged that same day with two felony counts of arson of an inhabited structure and one count each of arson during a state of emergency, possession of flammable material, and first-degree residential burglary. (Victor Aleman, Angelus News/CNS)
Catholic News Service
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LOS ANGELES (CNS) Authorities announced charges against a suspected arsonist who investigators believe ignited an overnight fire that gutted much of Mission San Gabriel last July.
Suspect John David Corey, 57, also known as Joker , is accused of starting a fire at The San Gabriel Mission as it was undergoing renovations on July 11, 2020, to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration
A man has been charged with setting fire to a historic Roman Catholic church in Southern California last summer, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Suspect John David Corey, 57, also known as Joker , is accused of starting a fire at The San Gabriel Mission on July 11, 2020 as it was undergoing renovations to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.
More than 85 firefighters, 12 engine companies, five truck companies, four rescue ambulances and five battalion chiefs were called to the blaze, according to the San Gabriel Fire Department.