MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Madera police officers say they arrested a man after a fire near Highway 99 and Cleveland Avenue.
Officers say they responded to a fire along the northbound lanes of Highway 99 north of Cleveland Avenue. When officers arrived they found the fire on the westside of an open field in the 1200 block of Gateway Drive.
That is when police say Robert Coles was seen stepping out of some bushes on the east side of Highway 99 near the fire.
Police say Coles appeared to be carrying items he packed up from an encampment and tried to avoid talking with the officer.
Coles was taken into custody and booked into the Madera County Jail.