Merced man arrested in fire at vacant Carrows

A 52-year-old Merced man was arrested on suspicion of starting a fire that gutted a shuttered diner on Motel Drive. Jay Desmond Jackson was arrested Thursday in connection with the fire at the closed Carrows diner Monday night.

Jackson, who was described by firefighters as a transient, was identified as the prime suspect in the apparent arson, which caused about $1.5 million in damage. A motive for the fire was not clear. Firefighters said Jackson was arrested late Thursday on suspicion of multiple counts of felony arson. He was not listed Friday as an inmate at the Merced County jail.

Investigators received an anonymous tip describing the appearance of the person believed to have started the fire, which led authorities to name Jackson as the suspect, firefighters said in a news release.

The investigation was conducted by Merced’s Fire Investigation Unit, the Merced Police Department Disruptive Area Response Team and UC Merced detectives.

Jackson’s criminal history includes convictions as well as numerous drug- and theft-related arrests, according to records.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Merced man arrested in fire at vacant Carrows."