Police: Man told to move out of family’s garage tries to burn down home

A Turlock man who’d been living in his family’s garage allegedly tried to set the home on fire after he was told to move out Sunday night.

Turlock Police Officer Steve Rodrigues said the incident occurred in the in the 4100 block of Sage Way at about 7 p.m. after the family told the suspect to leave, then locked the door between the garage and the house.

They did not, however, lock the front door so the suspect used it to gain entry into the home where went to the kitchen and turned on all four gas burners on the stove.

Rodrigues said he then put a roll of paper towels and a cereal box on the range, which caught fire.

One of five family members inside the house at the time quickly grabbed the burning items, threw them into the sink and turned on the water. No one was injured and nothing was seriously damaged.

A family member called police but the suspect had fled the home before officers arrived.

The suspect returned to the home at about 2:30 a.m. and officers went to the scene again where they detained the suspect without incident.

Daniel Ayala, 28, was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on suspicion of arson of an inhabited dwelling.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Police: Man told to move out of family’s garage tries to burn down home."