German man charged with arson in New Year's fires

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A German man was charged Wednesday with 37 counts of arson in connection with a rash of fires that terrorized Los Angeles over the New Year's weekend.

Harry Burkhart, 24, was charged with 28 counts of arson of property and nine counts of arson of an inhabited structure, District Attorney Steve Cooley said.

The complaint alleged the arson was caused by the use of a device designed to accelerate the fire. Court documents revealed an incendiary device was placed under the engine area of cars.

More charges could be filed when Burkhart returns to court for arraignment on Jan. 24. He was ordered held on $2.85 million bail and could face several dozen years in prison if convicted.

"The amount of harm he did to the psyche of the citizens of these particular communities and all of Los Angeles County, I think it merits a life term," Cooley said.

Burkhart is suspected of setting more than 50 blazes that caused an estimated $3 million in damage. He has refused to cooperate with investigators since his arrest on Monday.

The charges are based on a dozen fires in the Hollywood and Sherman Oaks sections of Los Angeles and the city of West Hollywood.

Authorities said they believe he was angry over his mother's legal troubles and went on a nighttime rampage of burning parked cars a day after she appeared in court last week, when he went on a profanity-laced tirade denouncing the United States.

Court documents gave "a sense that this particular individual was set off by the incarceration of his mother, with whom he appears to be quite close, and he had latent anti-American views."

Burkhart had an unusual court appearance, where he alternated between sitting and standing and appeared to be in a dazed state, although he spoke occasionally with a German translator. He wore green sleeveless shirt, his long hair matted on the front of his face as he craned his head and body backward when he stood.

He has been put on suicide watch, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of privacy issues.

Burkhart's mother, Dorothee Burkhart, said in court Tuesday that her son is mentally ill.

Harry Burkhart's background remains hazy. The Los Angeles district attorney's office statement said he travels on a German passport "but purportedly was born in Chechnya" and was staying with his mother in Hollywood. The statement did not elaborate.