It wasn't a veteran detective or even a full-time cop who finally caught the man suspected of lighting 52 fires in Los Angeles last week.

The hero is an Iranian-born real estate attorney by day, who patrols the LA streets by night as a "reserve deputy" working for the sheriff's office on nearly a volunteer-basis.

The sheriff called Shervin Lalezary a "true hero," saying his salary remains $1 a year.

The reserve deputy, who qualified in December to ride a car solo, was beyond his eight-hour shift when made the "arrest of his career."

(READ the story in the LA Times)