Illegal Immigrant Caught With Blowtorch Near LA Wildfire Not Charged With Arson

As wildfires rage across Los Angeles, a shocking revelation has emerged: the man caught with a blowtorch near an active fire is an illegal immigrant from Mexico but he has not been charged with arson. Instead, thanks to California’s soft-on-crime policies and sanctuary laws, he remains in custody only for a probation violation.

According to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, ICE sources confirmed that Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, the suspect in question, is an illegal alien. Yet despite overwhelming public concern and video evidence showing him wandering near the Kenneth Fire with a blowtorch, authorities claim there is “not enough probable cause” to charge him with arson.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will likely ignore an ICE detainer request for Sierra-Leyva because of California’s radical sanctuary state policies meaning this man could soon be back on the streets.

This is exactly why California’s crime crisis continues to spiral out of control:

• Criminal illegal aliens are protected instead of prosecuted.

• Democrat leadership refuses to prioritize public safety.

• California’s soft-on-crime laws make it nearly impossible to hold offenders accountable.

Disturbing video footage published by Newsweek shows residents physically restraining the suspect before police arrived. He had been seen walking with a bike and carrying what appeared to be a yellow blowtorch.

Had it not been for concerned citizens stepping in, who knows how much more damage could have been done?

Yet, despite the circumstances, LAPD Chief Dominic Choi stated that after reviewing “additional evidence,” officials determined there was not sufficient probable cause to charge him with arson.

Under normal circumstances, a man caught near an active wildfire with a blowtorch would face serious consequences. But in Democrat-run California, where protecting illegal immigrants is more important than protecting citizens, Sierra-Leyva is being treated with kid gloves.

This is the dangerous reality of open borders and sanctuary policies where criminals roam free while law-abiding Americans suffer.

If the Biden administration and California’s leadership won’t act, then it’s up to Trump and Vance to restore law and order before more innocent people get hurt.

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