Food truck businessman accused of arson, insurance fraud ordered to stand trial [The San Diego Union-Tribune]

When detectives saw photos and news interviews of Avonte Hartsfield in the days after a fire destroyed his popular Rollin Roots food truck in Kearny Mesa in 2021, they realized he was the man captured on surveillance camera video at the time of the blaze, investigators said in court Wednesday.

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Hartsfield, who faces charges of arson, insurance fraud and grand theft.

Prosecutors allege Hartsfield set fire to the truck and subsequently filed a fraudulent insurance claim. He also fundraised about $102,000 through a GoFundMe campaign after the fire. Hartsfield, who is Black, said in news interviews at the time that he felt he was the target of a hate crime.

After the proceedings in San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday, a judge found there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Hartsfield is representing himself in the case.

If convicted of the charges, the 27-year-old could face up to seven years and four months in prison.

The fire occurred about 12:50 a.m. Oct. 3, 2021, in a parking lot on Armour Street. Hartsfield initially said he discovered the scorched truck later that morning.

Hartsfield told police that two days before the blaze someone took $300 from the truck's cash register, as well as a safe from his office, located near where the truck was parked. Left behind was a piece of string Hartsfield described as a noose, although a San Diego police officer testified that the string was too thin to compare to a noose.

Hartsfield also told police that a day before the fire, he saw burned papers in the truck, so he believed someone had tried to burn down the business.

After the fire, investigators obtained surveillance camera footage from the area. A video clip shown in court shows a man barefoot, with a jacket or towel over his face and some sort of object in his hand.

The man walks toward the food truck, out of the video frame, then walks back from where he came. The video then shows a flash of light, which appears to quickly intensify.

By the time detectives were assigned the case and obtained the video, Hartsfield had done news interviews about the fire, which he said he suspected was arson and a hate crime. A KUSI interview and Instagram photos of Hartsfield matched the description of the man in the surveillance video, detectives said in court.

In another video clip, a hatchback captured in the area before and after the fire matches Hartsfield's Ford C-Max, detectives testified.

Confronted with the information, Hartsfield told San Diego police Detective John Clayton that he checked on the truck around the time of the fire "but everything was fine," so he left, according to audio of the interview, which was played in court.

Questioned further, Hartsfield said the fire started when he tried to unplug a rice cooker in the truck. He then ran away, he said.

"I panicked," he said, according to the audio.

He maintained that the break-ins and vandalism actually happened. After the fire, he "just went with it," he said, because he believed whoever was behind the incidents was set on burning the truck anyway. He also told Clayton he felt the fire would force police to investigate the prior incidents.

In a follow-up interview, Clayton told Hartsfield his story didn't seem plausible, and that investigators determined the fire was an act of arson. When the detective pressed Hartsfield for the truth, Hartsfield said he'd call back, but he never did.

Bailey Fice, a San Diego police crime analyst, testified that Hartsfield searched fire-related terms on Google, including "quick car explosion" about a week before the fire.

State Farm paid Hartsfield more than $200,000 for his loss in earnings and property. Hartsfield had rented the truck, and Progressive paid the owner $16,000 under a full auto insurance coverage plan. Both claims were paid out in part based on Hartsfield's version of events, according to testimony.

Donations to the GoFundMe trickled in through the end of May 2022. There were about 2,200 donors, with donations up to $7,600. Sycuan tribal officials gave him a $20,000 check.

In an update on the page in March 2022, Hartsfield claimed the fire was the result of an "electrical mishap."

GoFundMe issued $25,000 in refunds and incurred the costs, as per its policy, district attorney investigator Christopher Bayless said.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

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