A Santa Maria man has been booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of arson and felony vandalism, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.
The booking comes after what police determined to be several related incidents on and around South Broadway in Santa Maria early Tuesday morning.
Officials report that SMPD and the Santa Maria Fire Department responded to a structure fire on the 1900 block of South Broadway at 12:09 a.m. on Tuesday.
Police say the fire was located in a vacant commercial building, and that the fire was extinguished safely after the area was secured.
During the investigation, officials say SMPD officers and a Santa Maria Fire Department Arson Investigator discovered a second fire that had ignited around the same time. It was located behind an occupied convenience store just south of the initial fire and extinguished itself, according to police.
At 2:35 a.m. that same morning, officers say they received reports that a large storefront window had been shattered at a commercial property on the 1600 block of South Broadway.