Both men were aspiring law enforcement officers, studying criminal justice at Palomar College. Then their career paths diverged.
One was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of setting an Encinitas church and school on fire, and the other lauded for working undercover to help catch him. Tyler Carender, 20, is charged with causing more than a half-million dollars in damage to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and Oak Crest Middle School in a series of early morning fires last fall.
The first fire, on Oct. 22, destroyed the youth center at the church, prompting the building to be razed.