Arson suspect arrested after strip mall fire

Police and fire officials are investigating a Sunday night suspicious fire that broke out at a Walnut Creek strip mall.

Emergency crews responded at 9:20 p.m. to a building in the 1200 block of Arroyo Way that was engulfed in flames, police said. Police said investigators from the Contra Costa Fire Department responded and located a gasoline can at the scene.

Officers viewed video surveillance from a nearby business and identified a known transient man in the area at the time of the fire. The man, identified as Arthur Holden, 49, was located nearby.

Police said there was physical evidence and stolen property from the business that was set on fire in the area where Holden was found. Police arrested Holden on suspicion of arson, commercial burglary and parole violation.