
LAFD investigator testifies fingerprints at Kid Cudi's house were destroyed
It did not take long for LAFD arson investigator Lance Jimenez to conclude the car fire on January 9, 2012 was caused by a "makeshift firebomb" known as a Molotov cocktail.
"Somebody had lit it, cut the roof and dropped it in the front seat," Jimenez told the jury. "In my opinion it was targeted."
Jimenez said he took note of the slash in the canvas top of the black Porsche 911 Cabriolet and "burn patterns" on the seat, carpeting and roof.
"There was a bottle on the front seat and there was a cloth handkerchief on the center console that was burned," Jimenez said. "Inside the bottle I observed a liquid that gave an odor I know to be gasoline."
He said he also noticed a disposable red lighter on the ground. He walked the jury through photos of the damage, including the soot damage on the driver's door, the burns on the interior and the cut in the canvas roof. The jury also saw a picture of the lighter, the 40 ounce Old English 800 malt liquor bottle used to make the Molotov cocktail and burned handkerchief.
"The cloth was more of a silky type material. I think it just fell out of the bottle. The bottle didn't break so the liquid wasn't able to disburse. The fire just smoldered out. It didn't cause damage I think it was intended for," Jimenez said.
Jimenez testified that Kid Cudi had his home swept for fingerprints after the earlier break-in. Two prints were lifted from the glass front door, but Jimenez told the jury the fingerprint cards he turned in to the LAPD evidence unit were destroyed in August of 2012.








