Warrant: Matches, gloves found in arson suspect’s home
Police found a book bag containing gloves and matches at the on-campus home of a UC Irvine instructor accused of arson and other crimes, a search warrant shows.
The search warrant, which was served last week and is on file at Harbor Court in Newport Beach, shows that police recovered four pairs of gloves, two boxes of matches, three thumb drives and computers from professor Rainer Reinscheid’s office, bedroom and closet.
Reinscheid, 48, faces eight felony arson charges, one felony charge for attempted arson, and one misdemeanor for resisting police, court documents show.
Irvine Police Det. McDavid Mutuc said in court documents that five of the alleged arson incidents happened in Irvine, and three additional incidents took place at the Costa Mesa home of University High School’s assistant principal.
Police later arrested Reinscheid at William R. Mason Regional Park, where his son, who had attended University High, killed himself.
Police said they found Reinscheid crouched down in a bush with lighter fluid in his possession. Upon further investigation, police found two separate stacks of newspaper soaked in lighter fluid, they said in court documents.
Prosecutors allege Reinscheid emailed himself and his wife in April, saying that he wanted to kill at least 200 students and University’s assistant principal.
In one email, the German national said he wanted to buy 12 machine guns and burn down the high school and rape two female staffers before killing himself at Mason Regional Park, according to court documents.
Reinscheid has been held without bail in Orange County Jail since his July 27 arrest.
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