The homeless man tackled and zip-tied by onlookers who say he was trying to start fires with a blowtorch near a Los Angeles wildfire is an illegal immigrant who will likely be protected by California’s sanctuary city status, according to sources.
Residents of Woodland Hills ran down and subdued Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva after they saw him trying to torch debris with what one resident described as a “flamethrower” soon after last year’s massive wildfires began last January.
Kristi Noem weighs in on report husband lives cross-dressing double life: 'The family was blindsided by this' Shocking pictures of Kristi Noem's cross-dressing husband flaunting giant fake breasts revealed — sparking grave security questions Why TSA workers in Atlanta are being ordered to give back gift cards that Tyler Perry handed out during shutdown He was held until Thursday, when he was freed from Van Nuys Jail and immediately arrested again by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Viral security cam footage shared online showed Sierra-Leyva trying to ignite garbage and old Christmas trees with a blowtorch before neighbors chased him down in the disturbing Jan. 10, 2025, incident.Local resident Renata Grinshpun said she was in her backyard when she heard a car screech to a stop and a man yelling, “Neighbors, he’s trying to start a fire! Call 911!” Grinshpun saw Sierra-Leyva holding a large “propane tank or a flamethrower” — which others described as a blowtorch — as he tried to torch debris in the street, she told KTLA at the time. Neighbors sprang to action and swarmed Sierra-Leyva as he tried to ride off on a bicycle, as caught in the video — with one man yelling at him: “Put it down!” “We really banded together as a group,” Grinshpun told KTLA. “A few gentlemen surrounded him and got him on his knees. They got some zip ties, a rope and we were able to do a citizens’ arrest.”LAPD officers later came to take Sierra-Leyva into custody, the video shows. The LAPD responded and arrested Sierra-Leyva, video from the scene shows. The major crimes squad was called in because he was “a possible arson suspect” — but no arson charges were brought immediately against him, LAPD officials said.The Los Angeles District Attorney had no record of his case. Reps for the Ventura County Sheriff and the Los Angeles County Sheriff didn’t respond to requests for information on Sierra-Leyva. Sierra-Leyva has a lengthy criminal history and spent more than three years in US jails. ICE officials said his rap sheet includes aggravated assault, trespassing, amphetamine possession, damaging property, violation of a court order, and disturbing public peace. Records show Sierra-Leyva has been convicted of multiple crimes in LA County, including assault with a deadly weapon in 2023.But local authorities refused to honor the detainer and released Sierra-Leyva under California’s sanctuary law, ICE officials said. The state law, passed in 2017, ensures that no state resources are used to assist federal immigration enforcement.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in February rolled out several anti-ICE measures, including one that will bar federal immigration officers from using or staying at any city-owned facilities. Bass also created a new law that would impose a fee on Los Angeles property owners who grant site control to the feds.Kristi Noem weighs in on report husband lives cross-dressing double life: 'The family was blindsided by this' Shocking pictures of Kristi Noem's cross-dressing husband flaunting giant fake breasts revealed — sparking grave security questions Why TSA workers in Atlanta are being ordered to give back gift cards that Tyler Perry handed out during shutdownPentagon preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran — as Trump warned regime to ‘get serious’ about peace deal: reportInside ‘Summer House’ stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson’s ‘full-blown relationship’ after shocking romance confessionKirsten Fleming Mamdani shows no respect for older New Yorkers who are killed — but he has plenty of sympathy for law breakersChris Sumner via StoryfulStream It Or Skip It: 'Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole' On Netflix, Where A Troubled Detective Tracks Down A Serial Killer Who Is Terrorizing Oslo
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