HOLLYWOOD HILLS—On Wednesday, March 11, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that Jovan Lamar Duverne, 39, has been charged with two murders and multiple counts of felony arson after allegedly setting a series of fires across Hollywood, including a blaze at a home that killed two elderly sisters.
Duverne is charged in case 26CJCF01508 with two counts of murder and 11 counts of felony arson. He faces a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, as well as sentence enhancements related to a prior arson conviction, including a second-strike allegation. His arraignment is scheduled for March 11 in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. He is being held without bail.
Between January 26 and February 4 Duverne allegedly set fires at 10 locations in Hollywood, using a handheld torch-style lighter. He allegedly walked between locations lighting rubbish and attempting to enter buildings.
On February 4, around 2 a.m., the suspect allegedly set fire to a residence, which resulted in the deaths of two sisters, Maria Del Consuelo Alarcon-Valdez, 76, and Yolanda Honda, 82. Duverne was arrested later that day near Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place.
If convicted as charged, he faces up to death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole. A decision on the death penalty will be made at a later date.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec of the Arson and Explosives Section and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, with assistance from the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s Arson Counter Terrorism Section.
By Danny Jones