Deputies: Live Oak woman set fire to apartment in attempt to collect insurance

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a 34-year-old woman on arson charges for a fire that damaged an apartment building on 30th Avenue last month.

Annette Carranza was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of arson.

Deputies say she set fire to the apartment complex she lived in on Sept. 29, not long after she purchased fire insurance for the residence.

Center Fire and deputies were dispatched to the 1300 block of 30th Avenue near Brommer Street in Live Oak just after 4 a.m. on Sept. 29.

Two elderly residents were trapped in a second story apartment, and were rescued by firefighters. The fire spread to five neighboring units before it could be extinguished.

Investigators determined the fire started in Carranza’s unit, where she lived with her three young children and two other adults.

The fire rendered the entire complex uninhabitable and displaced eleven tenants. A firefighter was treated at the scene for a minor injury but no else was injured.

At the time of the fire, Carranza told deputies the fire started accidentally after she lit a candle and then fell asleep.

During their investigation, detectives learned that the day after Carranza was served with an eviction notice, she purchased fire insurance for the apartment. They say she also solicited an acquaintance to set the fire in exchange for cash and planned to pay them with her insurance settlement.

Carranza was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of aggravated arson.