The man accused of setting fire to over a dozen flags in an East Long Beach neighborhood last week pleaded not guilty to arson-related charges in Long Beach Superior Court on Monday afternoon.
John Leo Meylor, 35, of Laguna Niguel, was charged with one count of felony arson of an inhabited structure and 14 counts of felony arson of property after being accused of intentionally setting fire to several flags in front of homes early in the morning of Thursday, Dec. 8.
He was arrested the same day, after a witness spotted Meylor at El Dorado Park in the 2900 block of Studebaker Road and called authorities around 2:30 p.m., according to Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jack Crabtree.
Fire personnel, park rangers and the Long Beach Police Department worked collaboratively to locate and identify Meylor before police put him in custody, Crabtree said.
After his arrest, Meylor was booked into Long Beach City Jail on 13 counts of arson, one count of arson to an inhabited structure and one count of parole violation, according to LBPD spokesman Brandon Fahey. His initial bail was set at $3.25 million, arrest records show.
In court Monday, a judge lowered his bail from $3.25 million to $850,000.
Fire personnel were first made aware of the fires in the neighborhood when they responded to reports of a vehicle fire around 3:28 a.m. Thursday in the 2800 block of Iroquois Avenue, according to the LBFD. A fire was set to a flag on the front porch of a home, which fell on the car’s convertible top and set it ablaze, Crabtree said. The vehicle was parked in the driveway of the home and caused some exterior damage to the front porch, he said.
After the initial call that morning, the LBFD received multiple calls for fires outside of homes in the same neighborhood and found that several flags had been burned, said Crabtree.
Ring doorbell camera footage obtained by the Post shows a man walking up the driveway of a home in the neighborhood at 3:19 a.m. and intentionally setting fire to the American flag hanging from the front porch.
It’s not clear whether the man only targeted American flags or how many homes were affected, the LBFD said.
On Thursday morning, there were several empty, scorched flagpoles outside of homes on Iroquois and Hackett avenue, which is one block to the west. Some American flags were partially burned while others, including sports flags, were left unscathed.
Meylor remains in Long Beach jail in lieu of $850,000 bail and is due back in court on Dec. 19.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify that all charges are felony charges.