Fairbanks Coffee Carts Set on Fire
Flames burst as four of the Fairbanks Coffee carts across UCSD’s campus were set on fire last weekend on Sunday night, April 16, 2017. UC San Diego Police Department confirmed the occurrence a day after in an email to the entire student body. The email stated the fires were an act of arson, but at the time there was no information regarding a suspect.
The first fire occurred at the Fairbanks Coffee cart located in the Social Sciences Building at around 11:41 p.m. Immediately after the initial blaze, coffee carts located around campus were set on fire: in front of Warren Lecture Hall, Revelle Plaza, and Center Hall.
Per The Guardian, an eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous claimed she heard the alarms and the sirens, and when she arrived at the scene she saw the coffee cart on fire in the Social Science Building.
Afterward, a campus-wide email was sent to inform the student body of the current information regarding the situation.
“This is an ongoing investigation, so we’re encouraging anyone with information or who possibly saw anything to contact the campus police,” said Laura Margoni, Communications Director of Resource Management & Planning.
However, a week later the police department has a suspect in custody who pleads not guilty; 30-year-old Kay Lyn Williamson was charged with multiple counts of arson for allegedly setting fire to the four Fairbanks Coffee carts. It has been confirmed by investigators that the total damages will total to approximately $30,000.
Aside from the total damage, if Williamson is convicted she could face a total of 10 years in prison; but the sentencing will depend on several different factors in order to conclude on the length of years she could possibly face.
Williamson is currently being held in jail with set bail at $150,000, as the Times of San Diego reports, and if she posts bail, the judge orders she stays away from UCSD’s campus. When the judge reiterated to Williamson if she understood she was not to step foot on UCSD’s campus upon bail, she stated, per CBS 8 San Diego, “Do you understand that I’m the acting President of the United States of America, right now?”
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