SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A 23-year-old man has been charged federally for a fire that caused millions of dollars in damage to a mall in Roseville.
The U.S. Attorney's office says a Sacramento grand jury on Thursday returned an indictment charging Alexander Piggee with two counts of arson for the Oct. 21 blaze at the Westfield Galleria and smaller fire earlier that day at a nearby Wal-Mart.
According to the indictment, the mall fire began in a storeroom of one retailer and quickly spread through the ceiling and duct work, destroying a quarter of the 1.3 million-square-foot retail center.
Piggee is currently being held in Placer County jail on charges stemming from the Galleria arson. Local law enforcement officials have agreed to drop those charges and transfer Piggee to federal custody.