ARSON SUSPECT'S PAST LED AUTHORITIES TO HIM.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

A 21-year-old Lancaster man has been charged with setting fires in a downtown apartment, a garage and two trash bins.

David Thomas was arrested Monday in connection with a series of fires in the area of Beech Avenue between Lancaster Boulevard and Avenue I.

``He says he gets mad at people so he set these fires,'' said Sgt. John Ament of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Arson and Explosives Detail. ``That's his reasoning. He just likes to set fires.''

Thomas, who had a history of setting fires as a juvenile, is responsible for setting fires dating back to January 1998 around the apartment complex where he lives, officials said.

Officials filed charges in four specific incidents - an apartment fire, a garage fire and two trash bin fires - but say the area has experienced more than 20 small fires.

The garage caught fire from a couch set ablaze outside it, deputies said. A vacant apartment unit was set afire by someone who reached through a broken window and ignited the drapes. The total amount of damage has not been calculated.

Other fires occurred in a laundry room, on a lawn and in several trash cans and large bins.

``They started out as trash can fires and continue to escalate,'' Ament said.