SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — His lawyer says he’s a “sweet kid” but a 25-year old San Francisco man could soon be charged with arson.
Police say they arrested David Diaz in connection with a fire inside a Castro District hair salon on Saturday. Investigators say Diaz was a client at the salon and his boyfriend operated a bar downstairs.
The arrest comes just months after Diaz was released from jail after serving three years for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the choking of a man during a sexual encounter in Buena Vista Park in 2011. Prosecutors say Diaz set that victim on fire.
Public defender Alex Lilien says he thought Diaz should have been acquitted in that case.
“I’m sad and disappointed that he’s arrested so soon,” Lilien says “He really is a sweet kid who I got to know over the period of several years of representing him.”
Police say there have been a series of other arson attacks in the Castro in recent weeks but Diaz is not a suspect in that case. The San Francisco District Attorney’s office is still waiting for the police investigation to end before formal charges are brought.
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