COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-
A man being held in a deadly apartment fire told a friend he wanted to put a 6-month-old baby on a barbecue grill and burn the child, according to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday.
A judge set bond at $10,000 for Gene Johnson, 37, who was arrested along with cousin Derrick “Nicky” Johnson, 23, of Fountain, shortly after an arson fire Jan. 16 that destroyed a 135-unit apartment complex and left two people dead.
Derrick Johnson was being held without bond and faces nine felony charges including first-degree arson, first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Gene Johnson was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
Three other men were arrested on charges of accessory to first-degree murder.
Investigators suspect Gene Johnson helped his cousin flee after the fire started in the building, where Joe Santoyo, 52, and Clemente Perez Salgado, 32, were found dead, Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Kirkman said.
Kirkman said police found no evidence that Gene Johnson helped start the fire.
Police have said the fire may have stemmed from a domestic dispute between Derrick Johnson and the mother of his child. The woman and baby, who were at the apartment building, survived the fire.
According to a police affidavit, the woman’s friend told investigators that before the fire, the woman received phone calls and text messages from her former boyfriend threatening to kill her and the 6-month-old baby. He also threatened to “blow up” the apartments, the affidavit said.
A friend told police Derrick Johnson threatened to put the baby on a barbecue grill before saying he was on his way over to the apartments to kill them both, according to the affidavit.
