A Riverside liquor store owner paid two men to burn down a competing, neighboring store that has been the target of several arson fires throughout the year, police said.
Moreno Valley resident Munir "Mark" Hawara, 49, the owner of Tyler Market on the 4700 block of Tyler Street, was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly paid two suspected arsonists -- 33-year-old Riverside resident Randy Allen Ramirez and 42-year-old Riverside resident Willis Lee Simmons -- to set fires to Sunny Liquor, which is just down the street from his store.
Surveillance cameras at Sunny's liquor shows an arsonist dumping gas all over the front doors. In seconds, the store front bursts into flames. The fires occurred on Jan. 3, March 4, April 27 and Nov. 11 of 2016, according to the Riverside city fire and police departments.
Sunny Rana, the owner of the competing liquor store, suspected the fires were done by someone with a "personal problem."
"I didn't do him anything wrong," Rana said of the arrests.
Hawara, Simmons and Ramirez face charges of arson and conspiracy and were booked into Robert Presley Detention Center.
Tony Shin contributed to this report.
