Daily Dump

A 30-year-old man was arrested in downtown Redding on an arson-related charge after police reportedly found him straddling a fire hydrant and polishing it with a rag.

Chad Alexander was spotted on the sidewalk around 9:15 p.m. Saturday on North Market Street.

He told an officer that he was merely cleaning bird droppings off the hydrant, a Redding police spokeswoman said.

Alexander gave the officer his name, which was run through a statewide crimes database.

The routine warrant check linked the suspect to the outstanding charge out of San Francisco.

San Francisco District Attorney spokesman Brian Buckelew said that in 2007, Alexander pleaded guilty to starting a fire in a garbage can, a felony.

The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and Alexander was granted probation. However, he never showed up for court, Buckelew said.

In April, a San Francisco judge issued a no-bail, failure-to-appear warrant.

Alexander was being held Monday at the Shasta County jail without bail as he awaits transportation back to San Francisco.

Reporter Ryan Sabalow