OAKLAND (KRON) — An Oakland man, who was wanted for allegedly violating his probation for an auto theft conviction, tried to hide in a crawl space under his home but literally smoked himself out by starting a fire by dropping a cigarette on Wednesday, CHP Sgt. Paul Hurt said.
Hart, the spokesman for the Alameda County Regional Auto Theft Task Force, said that early Wednesday morning several officers went to the home at 3843 Paxton Ave. in Oakland where 49-year-old Francisco Coronza lives with his mother because he had violated his parole.
Hart said Coronza had been on the house’s porch but when the officers arrived he went inside, locked all the doors and went down into a crawlspace.
A standoff then occurred and the task force officers called Oakland police for assistance because it had become a barricaded situation, he said.
However, Coronza dropped a cigarette, started a fire and he and a juvenile female who was with him ran outside to escape the flames, Hart said.
Officers then arrested Coronza, according to Hart.
“We were waiting for him,” he said.
Oakland firefighters came to the house and were able to put out the fire before it did much damage, Hart said.
The situation was under control by 11:30 a.m., he said.
Coronza and his female companion were taken to Highland Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and Coronza was then taken into custody, Hart said.Bay City News contributed to this report.