May 28--Authorities have arrested a man in connection with an arson investigation of a blaze at a downtown L.A. apartment complex last year that caused millions of dollars in damages, sources familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.
Dawud Abdulwali, 56, was arrested Tuesday morning by the LAPD's anti-terrorism division, said Officer Tony Im. He was being held in lieu of $1 million bail, online jail records showed.
Abdulwali was a suspect for months during the investigation, one of the sources said. The arrest was carried out by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to the source.
The break in the case was the result of work by a multi-agency task force, and no one will be collecting the reward that had been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
The Dec. 8 blaze consumed a half-built, seven-story building in the Da Vinci apartment complex and damaged the 110 Freeway and neighboring buildings downtown.
The fire broke out about 1:20 a.m., sending towering flames into the night sky and spewing ash across a large swath of downtown. The fire rapidly consumed most of the wood-framed structure. More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour and half. No injuries were reported.
Fire officials said in the immediate aftermath of the fire that the circumstances, including how quickly the building was engulfed, were suspicious. City officials have estimated that the fire caused between $25 million and $30 million in damage.
Authorities have previously released vides that show two other passersby whom they said they wanted to interview as potential witnesses -- one was shown walking by the building before the fire started, and a second can be seen trying to climb a fence to get into the burning building and had to be deterred by firefighters. Neither was Abdulwali, one of the sources said.
