Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Arrest made in connection with grocery store fires

By
June 27, 2016

A man was arrested in connection with a grocery store arson investigation in Gwinnett County.

Michael Johnson was taken into custody Saturday and charged with arson. Johnson was one of the men who fashioned Molotov cocktails and set a Gwinnett grocery store on fire, authorities said.

Johnson’s charges stem from a string of fires set at La Jalisco Super Carniceria on Buford Drive in Lawrenceville. In May, three fires were reported and investigators said that each was intentionally set.

Surveillance footage of the third fire showed more than five men going into a back door of the building that had been boarded up after the second fire.

“The men are seen in the video igniting and throwing multiple homemade explosive devices,” Capt. Tommy Rutledge said previously.

The fires caused approximately $100,000 of damage.

About the Author

Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.

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