Camarillo Dentist Tried To Set Fire To 3 Competitors Since Last Year, Authorities Say

CAMARILLO (CBSLA.com) — A Camarillo dentist was being held Monday on $250,000 bail after being booked on suspicion of trying to set fire to the offices of three competitors.

Leopold Weinstein, 63, of Moorpark is scheduled to appear next in court Tuesday on several charges of arson, according to Ventura County sheriff's records.

Dentists returning to work at the Rosewood Dental Group were stunned to discover authorities believe they were being targeted by another dentist.

"I don't know exactly what to say," dentist Robert Sprague said. "It's certainly nothing we've ever seen or heard of before."

The Rosewood Dental Group was apparently targeted four times by the same arsonist.

"I think he just stood in the plants outside the window and threw materials up on the roof, and threw a road flare up there trying to light it, which it did light, but apparently the place won't burn," Sprague said.

The roof of Camarillo Dental Practice was also set on fire, with an employee describing how the arsonist previously drilled holes in the roof and poured in gasoline one Sunday last summer. Staff arriving the following Monday morning said the office reeked of gasoline.