SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Police say a thief stole a white Ford Mustang and set it on fire near the Vineyard Apartments off Jones Street and this is not the first time something like this has happened.
Police say three months earlier another car was stolen and torched in the same area.
At about 7:45AM police received a call that a white Ford Mustang was stolen from the 500 block of Jones Street .
About an hour later, police and fire crews got a call about a car on fire near the Vineyard Apartments just a few blocks down.
When they got there, they found a white mustang in flames. The fire spread to a red expedition parked next to it as well as a portion of the building.
Police later realized the white mustang, was the same one that was reported stolen earlier that morning.
"It is a little peculiar that the suspects only took it several blocks down the road. Parked it and lit it on fire," says Lieutenant. Rico Flores of the Santa Maria Police Department.
What's more peculiar, police say another car was stolen and lit on fire in the same area.
Police say they don't know if the two incidents are related or if both fires were started by the same suspect but they say the similarities are there.
The investigation is on going. If you have any information that would lead to the identity of the suspect, contact the Santa Maria Police Department (805) 928 - 3781.
