Latest news with #JacobLaHair
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Los Lunas fires allegedly caused by tossed cigarette
Jun. 26—Authorities say the suspect in a devastating fire told an acquaintance he wanted to show his children how fast fire can spread. The man said he did so by flicking a lit cigarette into the Rio Grande bosque behind a stretch of homes. The result, according to Valencia County deputies, was the Cotton Fire 1, a blaze that jumped into an adjacent neighborhood and torched nearly a dozen homes. Hundreds were forced to flee with whatever belongings they could gather at a moment's notice. The suspect, 31-year-old Jacob LaHair, of Los Lunas, was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with one count of negligent arson and one count of criminal damage to property over $1,000. The charges are fourth-degree felonies. LaHair's attorney was not available for comment Thursday. A criminal complaint filed in Los Lunas Magistrate Court unveiled the first details as to how authorities believe the fire began. "Jacob LaHair advised (a witness) he started the fire by demonstrating to his children how fast cotton burns and proceeded to flick his cigarette onto the cotton located in the bosque," according to the criminal complaint. The witness told deputies that LaHair "was laughing and making jokes" about starting the blaze. Firefighters responded to a wildfire call around 2:36 p.m. in the riverside forest before the flames jumped to homes along Las Rosas Road, on the west side of the Rio Grande, south of the Main Street bridge. The initial fire was joined by another on Sunday, the Cotton Fire 2, which sparked on the opposite side of the river. The two blazes were eventually named the Desert Willow Complex Fire. On Tuesday, a man reported seeing LaHair walking away from the Cotton 1 Fire. LaHair told the man he was "trying to help stop the fire," the criminal complaint said. The man's wife took photos of LaHair as he left the area. Deputies received another report on Wednesday from a resident who said LaHair told them he lit the fire with a cigarette, according to the complaint. The Valencia County Sheriff's Office went to look for LaHair at a home where he had been staying. LaHair "was not being himself," a woman at the residence told deputies. The woman told deputies that LaHair said on Tuesday he started the fire by accident. The woman called LaHair and told him authorities wanted to question him about the fire. The complaint states that after an arson investigator got on the phone, LaHair hung up and didn't answer any calls. LaHair turned himself in to the Los Lunas Police Department on Wednesday.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Suspect charged with arson in Los Lunas fire
Jun. 25—A Los Lunas man has been accused of setting a fire in the bosque that went on to destroy nearly a dozen homes in a neighborhood along the river. Jacob LaHair, 31, is charged with one count each of negligent arson and criminal damage to property over $1,000, fourth-degree felonies in the Cotton 1 Fire. The Desert Willow Complex Fire, made up of the Cotton 1 and Cotton 2 fires, sparked on opposite sides of the Rio Grande on Saturday and Sunday. The Valencia County Sheriff's Office said LaHair turned himself in to Los Lunas police on Wednesday and was booked into the Valencia County Detention Center. LaHair's family declined to comment Wednesday. Lt. Joseph Rowland, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, did not specify the evidence against LaHair. "Investigators conducted interviews, analyzed surveillance footage, and completed on-site field evaluations to determine the origin and cause of both fires," he said in a news release Wednesday evening. "Based on gathered evidence, investigators identified (LaHair) as a suspect." An arrest warrant was issued for LaHair on Wednesday. In all, the blaze destroyed 10 homes and left four more with "minor to major" damage along Las Rosas Road, which butts up against the west side of the Rio Grande, south of the Main Street bridge. The fires also burned over 260 acres and led to evacuations for 1,300 people over two days. At least 12 firefighters were assessed for heat and smoke injuries, with at least two being hospitalized in Albuquerque.
