• Wild day in court for LA arson suspect's mother

    By Jonathan Lloyd, John Cadiz Klemack and Jesse Gary , NBCLosAngeles.com

    An extradition hearing for the mother of a 24-year-old German man charged in connection with a string of arson attacks over New Year's weekend was postponed Friday for the second time in a week.

    Dorothee Burkhart was charged with 19 counts of fraud in Frankfurt. Friday's proceeding was considered a status hearing in the fraud case, but it was postponed when she refused the offer of a federal public defender and alleged that she had been beaten by jail staff.

    See video, read original story on NBCLosAngeles.com

    It was the investigation involving Dorothee Burkhart that led to her son's arrest Monday. Investigators looking into Dorothee Burkhart's case recognized the man seen in surveillance video released Sunday by arson investigators. The video showed a man walking from an underground parking structure in Hollywood.

    Investigators identified that man as Harry Burkhart, who was arrested a day later after a traffic stop initiated by a reserve LA County Sheriff's Deputy. He was charged Wednesday with 37 counts of arson. Bond was set at $2.85 million.

    Even though Friday's proceedings were placed on hold, the court hearing was far from uneventful. Dorothee Burkhart used the appearance to defend her son.

    "He didn't do this fire," she said. "One little mentally ill child couldn't do this -- it is technically impossible."

    Then, she added, "The Nazis have found us. ... We are victims of Nazi persecution."

    At that point, the judge broke in, telling the defendant the hearing would be terminated if she did not sit down and stop putting on a "show."

    More than 50 fires were set -- mostly vehicle fires that spread to carports and other structures -- between Dec. 30 and early Monday morning. Fires fitting the same profile have not been reported since Harry Burkhart's arrest.

    "The investigation of the 52 fires believed connected to this defendant is not over," said District Attorney Steve Cooley. "Appropriate action will be taken as further evidence is presented for our review."

    As for Dorothee Burkhart's case, the criminal complaint filed against her states that she allegedly failed to pay a Frankfurt clinic for breast augmentation surgery. She also is accused of bilking renters out of money by failing to return security deposits for apartments.

    Federal authorities recognized Harry Burkhart from his appearance at an earlier court hearing in the fraud case. They witnessed an anti-U.S. rant by Harry Burkhart, who was eventually escorted from the courtroom, according to authorities.

    German authorities also are interested in Harry Burkhart. Earlier this week, The Associated Press reported that he is under investigation there for a house fire near Frankfurt.

    It's likely Dorothee Burkhart, who has a listing under "Los Angeles Body Rubs" on the website AdultSearch.com, will be deported back to Germany, legal analyst Lou Shapiro told NBC4.

    Legal analysis of the cases on NBCLosAngeles.com

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  • German man charged in Los Angeles arsons

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    Update at 8:15 p.m. ET: The arraignment for Harry Burkhart has been postponed to Jan. 24. His bail has been set at $2.85 million, and he has been ordered to surrender his passport, prosecutors said.

    Original post: A German man has been charged with dozens of counts of arson in connection with a rash of fires set in Los Angeles over the New Year's weekend.

    Harry Burkhart, 24, was scheduled to appear for arraignment later Wednesday in a Los Angeles court. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney yet.

    "After reviewing the available evidence, we filed 28 counts of arson of property and nine counts of arson of an inhabited structure," said District Attorney Steve Cooley. "The current charges relate to arson fires at 13 locations in Hollywood, West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2.

    "The complaint also alleges that the arson was caused by use of a device designed to accelerate the fire," he said. "If found true, the allegation could mean additional custody time for the defendant.

    Burkhart is suspected of setting more than 50 arson blazes that caused an estimated $3 million in damage. 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.

    Burkhart was taken into custody after authorities received a tip from federal officials who recognized him in a security video that showed a pony-tailed man emerging from a garage where a car was set ablaze.

    "When they saw the security footage, they recognized him and they contacted the arson task force," a State Department official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing.

    Burkhart also is under investigation for a 2011 house fire in Germany, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

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

    Court documents were unsealed Tuesday that revealed she is charged in Germany with 19 counts of fraud, including failing topay for a 2004 breast-augmentation surgery and pilfering securitydeposits from renters.

    In a brief court appearance, she appeared perplexed, wondering aloud if her son had disappeared or was dead. At one point, she said, he is mentally ill and questioned whether Nazis knew where she and her son lived.

    "What did you do to my son?" she asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Nagle.

    "I'm not here to address anything related to your son," Nagle responded.

    Frankfurt court spokesman Guenther Meilinger told the AP that Dorothee Burkhart will go on trial for the fraud charges once she is extradited back to Germany. "We expect and hope that the U.S. authorities will look into the request for extradition ... so that the proceedings against her can continue," he said.

    Both mother and son are being held without bail.

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  • Mother says LA arson suspect is mentally ill

    NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    By NBC News and news services

    LOS ANGELES -- The mother of a German man accused in a slew of arson attacks that terrorized the Hollywood area appeared in court Tuesday to answer to legal troubles of her own, including accusations that she skipped out on paying for a 2004 breast-augmentation surgery in her native country.

    Dorothee Burkhart, the mother of Harry Burkhart, was arrested last week and on Tuesday had a brief extradition hearing in federal court related to a criminal warrant issued against her by the German government. The diminutive and heavy-set woman sat down and proceeded to ask about her son.

    "Where is my son?" she asked. "He should come to the court, where is my son?"

    When U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Nagle opened the hearing, Dorothee Burkhart said she didn't want to be handcuffed. The judge granted her request.

    Her second question was again about her son.

    "What did you do to my son?"

    The judge responded, "We are not here to do anything or talk about your son."

    Burkhart said, "My son has disappeared. Maybe the Nazis know about my address and took him. He is mentally ill."

    The judge brushed off her question before granting a continuance of the hearing to Friday.

    Dorothee Burkhart was arrested Wednesday on fraud charges from her native Germany. At her initial hearing a day later, her son exploded in an expletive-laced rant against the United States.

    The next day, police say, the 24-year-old began a nighttime rampage of arson attacks.

    Authorities have yet to disclose why they believe that the pony-tailed Hollywood resident set the fires, but his mother's legal trouble provides one glimpse into the turmoil in his life.

    Court documents unsealed Tuesday said Dorothee Burkhart, who is in her 50s, was charged with 19 counts of fraud in Frankfurt, including failing to pay for a 2004 breast-augmentation surgery and pilfering security deposits from renters.

    Harry Burkhart was being held without bail after being arrested in the arson case Monday.

    Outside his Hollywood apartment, some neighbors described him as a loner who loitered around the busy commercial strip at night and could be heard arguing with his mother.

    But Shlomo Elady, a hair stylist who regularly trimmed Burkhart's long hair, recalled someone who spoke three languages, dreamed of visiting Jerusalem and cared for a sickly mother who had trouble walking. Elady said the Burkharts lived above his Sunset Boulevard shop. 

    Elady said he was stunned that Harry Burkhart is suspected of torching vehicles, some just steps from his home. The fires caused an estimated $3 million in damage.

    "He loved his mom, the way every son loves his mom," Elady said. "He's not a creepy guy."

    Burkhart was taken into custody after authorities received a tip from federal officials who recognized him in a security video that showed a pony-tailed man emerging from a garage where a car was set ablaze.

    "When they saw the security footage, they recognized him and they contacted the arson task force," a State Department official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing.

    The official didn't know the mother's status or what type of visas the pair used to enter the country. As German citizens, they would be eligible to come to the U.S. without a visa for 90 days under the Visa Waiver Program.

    A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Harry Burkhart was present when his mother was arrested Dec. 28 on a provisional warrant.

    Provisional arrest warrants are normally issued when there are criminal charges pending overseas against someone. Ordinarily, U.S. authorities then obtain an arrest warrant through the State Department and the Justice Department.

    At his mother's Thursday court hearing, Harry Burkhart launched into an obscenity-laden tirade, saying "(Expletive) the United States!" said Thom Mrozek, spokesman at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

    Mrozek said Burkhart was detained and later escorted out of the courthouse. He said Burkhart did not make any specific threats against anyone or property at his mother's court hearing.

    Galina Illarionova, who lives in the same apartment complex as the suspect, said through a Russian translator that an agitated Burkhart visited her Sunday and said his mother was having some kind of legal problems.

    He told her his mother was in trouble with authorities and wanted Illarionova to attend a legal hearing with him, but he later said he didn't need her help.

    A domain name for a website offering appointment-only sensual massage is registered to Dorothee Burkhart. Her name is not mentioned on the website, which states the service is not prostitution.

    The series of fires appeared to have stopped with Burkhart's arrest. The onslaught kept residents anxious over the holiday weekend in some of the most densely populated areas of the city.

    One of Saturday's fires occurred at the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex, a popular tourist destination bordered by the Walk of Fame in a neighborhood that includes Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

    Damaged buildings included a former home of Doors singer Jim Morrison.

    No serious injuries were reported.

     This story contains information from NBC News and The Associated Press.

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    NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

  • Feds alerted LA authorities in arson case

    A suspect is under arrest in Los Angeles in connection with more than 50 fires that cost millions of dollars in property damage. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services

    Updated at 12:29 p.m. ET:

    LOS ANGELES - A State Department official says a German man was identified as a suspect in the Los Angeles arsons because his mother was the subject of a provisional arrest request by Germany, The Associated Press reported.

    Speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing, the official told AP on Tuesday that authorities learned about Harry Burkhart while working on his mother's case and recognized her 24-year-old son in security video of the arson suspect.

    Los Angeles authorities were alerted and Burkhart was arrested Monday.

    Another federal law enforcement said Burkhart was present when his mother, Dorothee, was arrested Dec. 28 by U.S. marshals and Los Angeles police. That official spoke anonymously because the official was not authorized to discuss the case.

    Earlier:

    LOS ANGELES - A man who was arrested in connection with a string of arson fires across the Los Angeles area reportedly told police officers, "I hate America," when they put him in handcuffs on Monday.

    According to a witness the suspect, 24-year-old Harry Burkhart from Germany, uttered the words as he was pulled over and arrested early Monday, L.A. Weekly reported.

    Police made the arrest after a tip from federal officials who thought they recognized the grainy figure caught on a surveillance video near where a car fire was reported.

    A "person of interest" detained in connection with 53 arson fires in the Hollywood area has been arrested and will be charged, officials said Monday. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    Burkhart was booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling. Since the arrest, firefighters have not responded to any other suspicious fires.

    "Our long four-day nightmare is over," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

    Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported that police searched a home on West Sunset Boulevard Monday evening. According to witnesses, the search took place in a second-floor apartment above the Le Figaro Hairstyling hair salon, the Times said.

    "I cut his hair just a week and a half ago," said Shlomo Elady, a stylist at the salon who told the Times Burkhart had been customer for more than a year. "I'm in shock. He's my client. I never saw any sign of trouble."

    Sam Mircovich / Reuters

    Los Angeles County Reserve Deputy Sheriff Shervin Lalezary (right), who spotted the now detained man driving a van, smiles as he is introduced by Sheriff Lee Baca (left) during a news conference in Los Angeles Monday.

    Police declined to reveal any motive for more than 50 fires that have occurred since Friday in Hollywood, neighboring West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, causing about $3 million in damage.

    However, the 24-year-old, who told officers he's from Frankfurt, may have been upset about his mother's legal woes.

    When asked at a news conference about reports that an immigration problem with Burhkart's mother may have been a factor, authorities declined to comment.

    Galina Illarionova, who lives in the same apartment complex as the suspect, told reporters through a Russian translator that an agitated Burkhart visited her Sunday and said that his mother was having some kind of legal problems.

    He told her his mother was in trouble with the authorities and wanted Illarionova to attend a legal hearing with him, but he later said he didn't need her help.

    'Most dangerous arsonist'
    "We are very confident in this arrest, but we have a long way to go," said Police Chief Charlie Beck, who mentioned receiving information from federal authorities who recognized Burkhart from the video. They believed he had been involved in removal hearings in immigration court, but they didn't specify how he was involved.

    Burkhart, who is being held without bail, was described by Sheriff Lee Baca as the "most dangerous arsonist in Los Angeles County that I can recall."

    Authorities didn't know how long he's been in the United States and said he isn't cooperating with them.

    The onslaught of intentionally set fires left residents on edge over the holiday weekend in some of the most densely populated areas of the city.

    Hundreds of investigators, police officers and firefighters raced to deal with the blazes. Police conducted extra patrols all weekend, and the noise of helicopters and sirens persisted virtually nonstop in Hollywood.

    The blazes forced many apartment dwellers from their homes. But there were no serious injuries — one firefighter was hurt in a fall from a ladder, and another person suffered smoke inhalation.

    Most of the fires began in cars, and authorities have not said how they were started.

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    The Associated Press contributed to this report.