SAN DIEGO – A business owner suspected of setting his food truck on fire in Kearny Mesa was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges that include arson and insurance fraud.
During a preliminary hearing held Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court, San Diego Police Department detectives testified that their investigation into the fire yielded surveillance footage from a business near Hartsfield’s office, where his food truck was parked the night it went up in flames. Hartsfield told police that in the days leading up to the fire, his truck and office had been broken into multiple times and some of his equipment had been vandalized. He also said he found a makeshift noose hanging in his office.
A phone call between Hartsfield and SDPD detective John Clayton of the department’s Metro Arson Strike Team was played during the hearing, in which Clayton states surveillance footage placed Hartsfield at the scene around the time of the fire. After Clayton told him that he didn’t believe the gunman story, Hartsfield said the fire was actually started by a rice cooker he left on in the truck. When the rice cooker sparked the fire, Hartsfield said he panicked and ran.
District Attorney’s Office Investigator Christopher Bayless testified that GoFundMe ended up refunding about $25,000 out of the total funds raised.