A man accused of starting a dumpster fire Saturday night now faces charges alleging he ignited three other fires in the East Lancaster neighborhood in the hours leading up to his arrest.
The fires included Lucky Fortune Restaurant & Lounge, which was occupied at the time and was a total loss, according to a Salem Police Department affidavit.
The smell of smoke still lingered in the air Tuesday at the restaurant. The entire roof was caved in, exposing red booths for diners to the rain, and charred debris filled the interior and was strewn outside.
Prosecutors charged Leonardo Hernandez-Cruz, 28, with second-degree arson on Monday, alleging he intentionally started a dumpster fire causing over $750 in damages in Marion County Circuit Court.
Hernandez-Cruz was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree arson and second-degree arson in a second case, court records show. The charges allege he set fires at three other locations in the East Lancaster area over the weekend, in total causing over $100,750 in damages.
Salem police and fire crews responded to four arsons in a commercial district of Northeast Lancaster Drive in the late evening and early morning hours of Dec. 17 and 18. The fires appeared to have been set by one person, the police affidavit said.
Around 10 p.m. on Dec. 17, an employee of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative was viewing cameras from off-site at a BottleDrop location, 1917 Lancaster Dr. N.E. when he saw a man set a dumpster on the west side of the business on fire with something that appeared to be a cigarette.
Police and fire crews responded to find the dumpster engulfed in flames. A detective later determined the value of the dumpster was $1,000, the affidavit said.
Salem police then received several other reports of arson near the BottleDrop, concluding with a fourth fire shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday at the Lucky Fortune Restaurant & Lounge, a Chinese restaurant at 1401 Lancaster Dr N.E., according to a department statement.
An officer responded to the restaurant and saw a man, later identified as Hernandez-Cruz, who matched the description of the man captured on video earlier at the BottleDrop.
The report said the officer contacted Hernandez-Cruz but “after a brief conversation,” Hernandez-Cruz ran from the officer into the street, directly in the path of responding fire trucks.
Police arrested Hernandez-Cruz on suspicion of disorderly conduct and transported him to the Salem police station for an interview.
Hernandez-Cruz initially denied any involvement in the fires before eventually confessing to setting the dumpster on fire. According to the report, he told police he lit a receipt from a video poker establishment and placed it on the dumpster “because he was angry over having lost approximately $400 playing video poker.”
The report said Hernandez-Cruz told police he did not believe the receipt would cause “a significant blaze and was sorry.” He denied being involved in any of the other fires but told police he was in the area when they were set.
Salem police arson investigators determined Hernandez-Cruz was also involved in fires at three other locations – a garbage bag in a hedge next to an apartment building in the 3900 block of Northeast Sunnyview Road, a trash can in a wood enclosure in the 1300 block of Northeast Lancaster Drive, and a pile of trash adjacent to Lucky Fortune Restaurant & Lounge.
He was being held at Marion County Jail without bail as of Tuesday morning, the jail’s roster showed. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 2:30 p.m. in Marion County Circuit Court, according to court records.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
