By Lookout Staff

Allen Francisco Contis (Courtesy SMPD)

The first arrest came after patrol officers responded to a commercial burglary call on Saturday May 25 at around 11:30 p.m. in the 2900 block of Lincoln Boulevard, police officials said. "The owner of the business received an alert from the alarm company that a single suspect entered the business by breaking through a skylight," said Lt. Erika Aklufi, the Police Department spokesperson. Responding officers arrived at the scene and found the suspect, later identified as Allen Francisco Contis, 49, inside the building, according to Aklufi.

On Wednesday, May 29, patrol officers responded to radio calls of "multiple arsons" in the 1500 and 1600 blocks of Lincoln Boulevard and the alley east of Lincoln Boulevard, according to Aklufi.

"Multiple witnesses identified Contis as the individual responsible for setting fire to a discarded tire, a city-owned trash can, and a small garage located directly adjacent to a multi-unit apartment complex," Aklufi said.

The responding officers located Contis and arrested him without incident, she said.

Contis has been charged by the LA County District Attorney’s office with two counts of felony arson and one misdemeanor count of giving false information to a police officer, according to police officials.

The burglary case will be presented to the District Attorney separately.

Anyone with information related to this incident or this individual should email Detective Tavera at Hector.Tavera@santamonica.gov or call the Watch Commander 24 hours at 310-458-8427.