A Lake Elsinore man was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Monday for intentionally setting a fire last year at a Target store in Menifee that caused millions of dollars in damage, according to a news release from the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
Abel Arizmendi Jr., who is a convicted felon, pleaded guilty in Superior Court to two arson-related charges and a third count of committing a crime with a previous strike on record.
Superior Court Judge John Monterosso certified the terms of a plea deal and imposed Arizmendi Jr’s sentence at a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta on Monday. Monterosso signed the prison commitment order on Tuesday morning.
On Jan. 22, 2023, Arizmendi Jr. ignited an unknown device and placed it in a trash can in the men’s section of the Target store.
