Police: MMA fighter helped detain Bay Area arson suspect

A day after the Vallejo Fire Department announced that an arsonist was arrested Saturday night after stealing a vehicle and setting a field on fire, the Vallejo Police Department released a statement saying a bystander first caught the suspect by using mixed martial arts.

According to the VPD news release, a “vigilant Vallejo citizen observed a man deliberately starting a vegetation fire with a flare near the intersection of Admiral Callaghan Lane and Turner Parkway. The citizen followed the arsonist as he ran across the street and entered a black Tesla parked on the 900 block of Admiral Callaghan Lane.

“Before the arsonist could drive away, the brave citizen contacted the arsonist and removed him from the vehicle,” the VPD statement continues. “The arsonist knew he was in trouble and quickly learned he was being detained by a trained mixed martial artist who introduced him to a double armbar. The arsonist stayed submitted with the double armbar until our officers arrived and arrested him.”

The alleged arsonist was then arrested Saturday night after stealing a Tesla in Fremont, driving to Vallejo and setting a field on fire.

The fire swept across 15 acres of land before firefighters extinguished it, but damages remained minimal, the Vallejo Fire Department said in a press release. One backyard fence received “minor damage” and a firefighter suffered a sprained wrist, Fire Captain Kevin Brown said.

On Tuesday the suspect, Vy Truong, also known as Vy Troung and Kenny Truong, was in Solano Superior Court for committing a felony-Arson of a Structure or Forest as well as the felony of receiving stolen property, motor vehicle. Truong remained in jail Monday afternoon on $93,333 bail, according to the Solano County Jail’s list of inmates.

Brown said the incident took place around 7 p.m. Saturday night in a field near the Vallejo Target.

“(The arsonist) was seen by people in that Target shopping center approach the field, light a road flare on fire and then try to set the field on fire,” Brown said.

By the time firefighters got there, winds of between 15 and 20 mph had hurled flames across the field and the fire was threatening homes in the area of Hunter Court and Foothill Drive. First responders got in control of the blaze at 7:48 p.m.

Police gave thanks to the Vallejo Fire Department and the citizen whohelped stop the arson suspect.

“Thank you to the vigilant community member that stepped into action and helped prevent an arsonist from destroying our community,” the VPD wrote in the same news release. “Thank you, Vallejo Fire Department, for risking your lives and defeating a vegetation fire that easily could have destroyed businesses and residences!”

Times-Herald reporter Daniel Egitto contributed to this article.