The German man busted as the suspected firebug who torched more than 50 cars in Los Angeles had a message for the cop who cuffed him Monday: "I hate America."
Harry Burkhart, 24, spoke the smear after he was yanked from his minivan near the Sunset Strip about 3 a.m. by a Beverly Hills real estate attorney who moonlights as a reserve sheriff's deputy, witnesses told LA Weekly.
Shervin Lalezary, who earns a $1 a year as a part-time crime fighter, made the stop after noticing the minivan with Canadian plates matched the one mentioned in a tip from federal officials.
Cops found fire starter sticks inside the van, police said.
Burkhart, who has lived in southern California for several years and was carrying travel papers from Chechnya, was booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling and was being held without bail, authorities said.
Fire sirens were quiet in the City of Angels on Monday night for the first time since Friday.
"Our long four-day nightmare is over," Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said.
Cops haven't said what drove the alleged Frankfurt firebug to set more than 50 fires across Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley — including one at the former home of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison and another at a garage near the Hollywood Walk of Fame — causing an estimated $3 million in damages.
But neighbors at Burkhart’s West Sunset Blvd. apartment complex said they believe the suspect could have been motivated by his mother's immigration woes.
The mother, whose name was not released, was scheduled to be deported, according to the Los Angeles Times.
At a recent immigration court hearing on her case, Burkhart erupted in a hate-filled, anti-American tirade, the Times reported.
An official from that case thought Burkhart resembled the ponytailed "person of interest" that appeared in a grainy surveillance tape that police released on Sunday, and federal officials told cops to keep an eye out for a blue Dodge Caravan, the Times reported.
Los Angeles police wouldn't comment on Burkhart's family matters.
"We are very confident in this arrest, but we have a long way to go," Police Chief Charlie Beck said.
The rash of fires left Southland residents on edge over the holiday weekend as hundreds of extra firefighters and cops swarmed the city on frenzied overnight patrols.
Most of the blazes were started in cars or carports, although some jumped to neighboring apartments and houses, forcing residents from their homes.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries after a fall from a ladder. No one else was hurt.
Although police said they were certain they had their man, authorities urged residents to remain alert.
"We're not resting, and we're not stopping" police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. "If you have lights in your carport area, keep them on tonight."
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