Colorado Springs –Two men were formally charged in El Paso County District court this morning in connection with the massive apartment-house fire in January that killed two people.
Derrick Johnson, 23, was charged with nine crimes, including two counts of first-degree felony murder, two counts of first-degree murder with extreme indifference, first-degree murder under deliberation, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree arson and two counts of being an habitual criminal.
He is being held without bond.
Gene Johnson, 36, a cousin of Derrick’s, was charged with accessory to murder after the fact. His bond was set at $10,000.
The charges stem from the fire in January at the Castle West Apartments that forced 300 people to flee from the 135-apartment complex. The general-alarm fire burned for days, collapsing portions of the roofs and walls.
Several days later, investigators found the ice-encased bodies of Joe Santoya, 52, of Arizona; and Clemente Perez Salgado, 32, of Colorado Springs.
