Burn SUV Burn

When I left my hometown of Cerritos and went to Berkeley, people would ask where home was. "L.A." was usually the answer. For most people, that answer was good enough -- the suburbs of L.A. are little known except for those of us who actually live there. Every once in a while a Southern Californian would dig deeper.

"Where in L.A.?" they'd ask.

"Cerritos", I'd answer.

"Oh, I've heard of Cerritos. Cerritos Auto Square, right?" they'd say.

"Right."
There's really only two things Cerritos is known for -- the Cerritos Auto Square and the Cerritos Library.
My sister says that while she was going to UCSD some students would drive north an hour and half to go to the Guppy House, one of the local teahouses in the city, whose specialty is bing shui, also known as Taiwanese shaved ice. So, I guess the Guppy House is also fairly well known.
The Auto Square is on Studebaker and South Street, right next to the shopping mall, the fire station and Guppy House. The Library is one street away on 183rd. It's a pretty small city, so it always feels a bit strange when they manage to make national news. This time the national news isn't something the town should be proud of (like rolling out wi-fi throughout the city or having a contestant on Nashville Star). This time, it's about one of the new car dealerships in Cerritos (don't buy cars in my hometown, there are better deals elsewhere in Southern California) providing an arsonist to torch cars.

Investigators found the arson-for-hire ring involved a new-car dealership in Cerritos, California. Debt-weary SUV owners contacted the finance manager, hoping to trade in their gas-guzzler for something cheaper. They were then put in touch with an arsonist who told them to leave the keys in the ignition and $300 cash in the glovebox. An arsonist would then take the car to a remote location and set it afire. After the car was torched, the owners would then contact their insurance company and report their vehicle stolen, expecting their debt to be cancelled. Instead, they were investigated for insurance fraud.