UPDATED: Authorities Make Arrest In Bethesda Car Fires

Updated at 1:25 p.m. — Police and county fire investigators have arrested and charged a 20-year-old Bethesda man for a strange series of fires set inside cars in the Edgemoor neighborhood. MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said investigators charged Mansour Benkreira with three counts of arson relating to the fires set on Wednesday morning in cars that were parked in driveways around the intersection of Wessling Lane and Glenbrook Road. According to police charging documents, surveillance video from a home security system at 7001 Glenbrook Road caught Benkreira and an unidentified accomplice in the act. The two walked up to the blue 2015 Land Rover Range Rover at about 5:49 a.m., opened the driver's side and passenger's side front doors, rummaged inside the vehicle and then lit "available combustibles" inside. The suspects then closed the doors and walked away, according to the charging documents. The fire eventually burned out. Another victim, Angela Zimmerman of 5124 Wessling Lane, said her husband discovered a smoldering fire on the passenger seat of their vehicle when he came out to the driveway at about 6 a.m. It appeared as if someone had entered the vehicle, which police said was unlocked, taken items out of the glove compartment and set those items on fire on the vehicle's seat. Zimmerman said no items from inside the car were stolen but police found a spray bottle they suspected was used to start the fire. Another vehicle in the driveway of nearby 7010 Glenbrook Road also had a fire set inside it. Police said a neighbor took a photo of Benkreira and his accomplice walking around and looking into vehicles at about 7:40 a.m. A detective who recognized Benkreira from a previous incident was able to identify him. According to police, Benkreira lives at an apartment at 5055 Bradley Boulevard. He faces 20 years in prison or $30,000 in penalties for each of the three 2nd Degree Arson charges. He was also charged with entering another vehicle with the intent of theft of property. Piringer asked anyone with information on the second suspect to call the county's arson tip line at 240-777-2263. PDF: Mansour Benkreira charging documents Photo via MCFRS