Firefighting vehicles appeared Saturday morning at a checkpoint close to where rescue personnel were searching for wreckage from the Palisades blaze.
A law enforcement representative acquainted with the situation informed the Times that the motorist stated to National Guard soldiers overseeing the perimeter that he was a volunteer firefighter.
The official, who was not permitted to communicate with the press and preferred to remain unnamed, remarked that there was minimal reason to doubt that claim. The individual was clad in a yellow firefighting outfit and was operating a full-sized red fire engine fitted with emergency lights, a California license plate, and an American flag.
Authorities stated that the two men detained were wearing firefighting uniforms upon arriving at the Palisades fire location in a retired fire truck.
(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
However, the firefighters stationed at the checkpoint observed something unusual about the emblem on the vehicle that declared “Roaring River Fire Department,” officials noted. He guided Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to verify the man’s identification.
Law enforcement representatives revealed that the individual showcased an Oregon driver’s license bearing the name Dustin Nehl. An examination of Nehl’s criminal records indicated that he had spent five years in prison for arson.
In 2017, a Portland TV station KATU reported that Nehl admitted to starting a series of fires at golf courses, parks, and water facilities in Woodburn, Oregon, located approximately 30 miles south of Portland.
On Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials declared that Nehl, aged 31, along with his spouse Jennifer Nehl, 44, who accompanied him, had been arrested for allegedly posing as firefighters and entering an evacuation zone without authorization. Authorities specified their intention to seek charges against the couple from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.
Officials indicated that the two apprehended men were dressed in firefighting attire.
(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Dustin Nehl is not the initial person to be accused of masquerading as an emergency responder to gain entry to an evacuation area. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell declared last week that officers captured a robbery suspect posing as a firefighter in the Palisades Fire Zone.
Ivan Cedric Reed, 34, was donning a yellow firefighter uniform and carrying a radio when officers located him on Clifftop Way in Malibu on Tuesday night. However, prosecutors contended that Reed had stolen goods. He faced charges of impersonating a firefighter, unlawful use of a firefighter badge, and entering restricted areas without authorization.
“We have individuals dedicated to what they do,” McDonnell commented.
Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Nehl have been charged with thievery from abandoned residences in the Pacific Palisades area; however, a person with insight into their arrest indicated that authorities discovered tools potentially used by the burglars inside the fire truck. It is reported that maps illustrating burned regions and radios tuned to frequencies utilized by municipal and county fire departments were also confiscated.
The vehicle, which was originally utilized by a Northern California fire service, was retired and auctioned off around 30 years ago, officials asserted.
The duration of Nehl’s stay in Los Angeles remains unclear, but authorities noted he identified himself as a firefighter to receive complimentary lodging at a local Holiday Inn Express.