Woman arrested in attempted murder

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Authorities arrested a 50-year-old woman on suspicion of attempted murder after she allegedly started a fire at her Orcutt apartment while her sister slept inside, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s officials said.
When firefighters arrived at the apartment in the 200 block of N. Pacific St., they found the suspect’s sister, who is disabled, in front of the residence. She told authorities she was able to get out of the home without injury once she realized there was a fire.

Fire investigators determined the blaze had been set intentionally, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Alex Tipolt said in a news release. Detectives learned that the disabled woman had only lived at the home for a week and her sister, Lolita Nelson, was renting the apartment.
Authorities discovered Nelson had been seen leaving the residence shortly before the fire, which started early Sunday morning.
Detectives determined Nelson was responsible for intentionally setting the blaze, Sgt. Tipolt said, and took her into custody later that day after questioning.
She was booked into County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.