A woman seen by neighbors dragging her mother into a burning house Tuesday night has been hospitalized and will be booked into jail, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The single story home on Lakeview Granada Drive in Lakeside caught fire at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Heartland Fire Department.
Dispatchers advised department officials that the fire was "deliberately set" by one of the residents. When deputies arrived to the scene, the 74-year-old woman who lived in the house told them her daughter had intentionally set the fire.
Deputies detained the woman's adult daughter, 41-year-old Neomi Rodriguez, Wednesday morning, she was booked with the Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee and faces several charges, including arson, assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm), elder abuse and attempting to prevent a victim from calling police.
She is also now charged with attempted murder.
At a hearing on Friday, evidence presented suggested that Rodriguez allegedly tried to push her mother into a burning room and bind her to a table when she tried to get away. The judge set Rodriguez's bail at $1.5 million, saying she is considered a flight risk.
After the fire, Rodriguez was treated at the hospital, where she and her mother were transported with non-life-threatening injuries after the fire. Both are listed in good condition, officials said.
Rodriguez was taken to the detention facility upon her release from the hospital.
A close friend and neighbor told NBC 7 that the mother's name is Kazuko Martinez, and that she and her daughter did not get along well. The neighbor said she was "not surprised" when she learned of the allegations against Rodriguez.
Martinez has two children, including Rodriguez. Her son often visited the two when they were having problems.
Court records affirm that the mother and daughter have a tumultuous relationship.
Martinez was granted a restraining order against Rodriguez last August. In a petition filed with the court on August 15th, Martinez said her daughter had threatened her with a hammer, was "verbally abusive" and was abusing prescription drugs.
Martinez said her daughter was "starting to hear things and see things," including a snake that "is all over her body and in her hair."
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Martinez told the court that her daughter had been arrested in the past for substance abuse, and that "She threatens me that she will call the cops on me, tells me I am crazy, tells me she is going to send me to a rest home."
A court commissioner granted the request on August 15th, ordering Rodriguez to leave and stay away from her mother's home, and not "harass, attack, strike, threaten or assault" her.
But the victim let that restraining order expire two weeks later, telling the commissioner that she and her daughter were going to get mental health counseling.
Court records also reveal that Rodriguez pleaded guilty to at least three misdemeanor drug violations in the past two years. She also admitted to driving on a suspended or revoked license and resisting arrest. Rodriguez is currently on probation in those cases. She has two civil suits filed against her to collect money she owed.
Additionally, she has filed for divorce three times from the same man. The close friend told NBC 7 that the two are now officially divorced, and her ex-husband has custody of their two children.
Before authorities arrived to the scene Tuesday night, bystanders had to assist with what they described as a dispute near the burning home.
Witness David Silva was visiting the neighborhood when they heard a woman yelling for help near the burning home.
“The daughter must have been trying to drag her mother in the house,” Silva said. “We had to restrain her until police came.”
Silva said when he went inside the house to help fight the fire, he saw two gasoline cans in the back bedroom.
Neighbors said they often heard Rodriguez arguing with her mother.
By about 5 p.m. Monday, the fire was knocked down. Bomb/Arson detectives were requested after the fire was knocked down.
