PACIFICA FIREFIGHTERS went down the side of Sharp Park Road Monday afternoon to reach a small grass fire whose origin was suspicious in nature. The fire was reported at about 3:15 p.m. after neighbors in the vicinity of Talbot saw the flames and smoke. Firefighters pulled off the side of the road west of Gypsy Hill and went a couple hundred feet down the hill to reach the fire. The flames, which had burned about 2,000 square feet, were easily extinguished by the firefighters. Fire officials at the scene said the fire appeared suspicious and said a couple of juveniles with firecrackers might have been responsible.
AN OUT-OF-TOWN-MAN whose motorcycle collided with a big rig truck Tuesday morning should thank his lucky stars. Or so say officials who responded to the morning accident on Devil's Slide and said it could have been much worse. The 28-year-old Monterey man was going south around the narrow portion of Devil's Slide and had just come around a bend when his motorcycle collided with the big rig. Fortunately, the truck had slowed way down to about 10 miles per hour because of a bicyclist in his way. Although the motorcyclist broke his right leg, likely in two places, officials said had the truck been going any faster he might have lost his life. The incident happened at about 9:50 a.m. Tuesday and caused some traffic tie-ups while Pacifica Police and Firefighters responded, along with California Highway Patrol and paramedics.
A PACIFICA MAN was arrested on multiple charges, including evading arrest, after police detained him in connection with an arson fire at the home of his estranged in-laws. Police were called to the residence on Gateway Drive shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 1 after the man's estranged wife called to say he had shown up on her parents' lawn in violation of a court-issued restraining order. Moments after he was spotted, other residents in the house spotted a bag with some of the wife's property on fire. Cpl. Dan Winter arrived along with Officer Johnny Fanucchi who was able to put out the small fire with a fire extinguisher a neighbor handed him. The people at the house told officers the man had called his wife to talk to her. When he told her she'd talk to him in two days, he said he was "coming over." After talking with the wife and her relatives, police caught up with the suspect husband on Eastridge Circle. When asked to put his hands behind his back, the man instead took off running on Gateway Drive. By then, Officer Randy Malashus had arrived and sent his police dog "Lotos" running after the suspect down the short block. The dog caught up with the fleeing man who wisely stopped running and did not get bitten. However, when officers tried to detain him he allegedly struggled, refusing to lie down on the ground to be handcuffed. One of the officers ended up striking him once on the leg with his baton, and other sprayed him with pepper spray, but still the man struggled. He was finally detained and because he had no injuries was taken directly to jail. The suspect, Wyatt Charles McIntyre, 41, denied ever leaving his house or setting the fire, a claim backed up by one of his relatives. Police booked him into jail and are asking the District Attorney to review the case for possible prosecution for arson, violation of a domestic violence order and resisting arrest.
Items in Police Beat are obtained through Pacifica Police, Fire, San Mateo County Sheriff, California Highway Patrol and other agency reports and press releases. Additional details are obtained through interviews with agency officials.